NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 7, 2018

by | Oct 7, 2018

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 7, 2018

Game recaps plus updates on Roberto Luongo, James van Riemsdyk, Steve Mason and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews tallied a hat trick, including the game-tying and winning goals, to lead his club to a 5-4 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues.  Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for the Blues.

Jonathan Toews’ hat trick led the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-4 OT win over the St. Louis Blues. (Photo via NHL Images)

Tyler Seguin scored twice and set up two others as the Dallas Stars drubbed the Winnipeg Jets 5-1. Stars captain Jamie Benn also scored twice and collected an assist while Alex Radulov enjoyed a three-point night.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Games like this one will make Seguin’s new eight-year, $78.8-million contract starting next season worthwhile for the Stars. 

The Florida Panthers fell 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a shootout. Starting goaltender Roberto Luongo left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury after teammate Frankie Vatrano fell on Luongo’s right leg during a goalmouth scramble. “I don’t know how serious (the injury is)”, said Panthers coach Bob Boughner. “Hopefully, that’s not going to be a long-term thing. They’re going to reassess it and I’ll know more tomorrow.”

Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Giordano and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and two assists as the Calgary Flames downed the Vancouver Canucks 7-4. Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson scored twice and set up another, giving him five points in his first two NHL contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pettersson has the makings of the Canucks’ next big Swedish star, following in the footsteps of Markus Naslund and the Sedin twins. 

Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac each scored twice to give the New Jersey Devils a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers at the 2018 NHL Global Series in Gothenburg, Sweden. Earlier in the day, the Oilers activated defenseman Kris Russell from injured reserved and sent Ethan Bear to their AHL affiliate. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: One game does not a season make, but the Oilers’ season opener looked pretty much like most of their games in 2017-18. Goaltender Cam Talbot was shaky while their defense struggled against the Devils’ aggressive forechecking. 

Montreal Canadiens forward Paul Byron scored two goals and an assist while Carey Price kicked out 21 shots in a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sophomore defenseman Thomas Chabot scored twice and added an assist while goalie Craig Anderson made 34 stops as the Ottawa Senators upset the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Thanks to a combination of speed, promising youngsters and solid veteran goaltender, the rebuilding Canadiens and Senators look surprisingly good thus far. The playoffs still remain a long shot for both clubs and there’s still a long season ahead of them, but they’re serving early notice they won’t be pushovers.

Colin Wilson scored twice and Semyon Varlamov turned aside 35 shots to give the Colorado Avalanche a 5-2 over the Philadelphia Flyers, who also lost winger James van Riemsdyk in the first period to a lower-body injury. “I don’t know the extent of it, so we’ve got to wait until we get back,” said Flyers coach Dave Hasktol. “We’re at the end of a long trip here, so we’ll get home and figure out where everything is at.”

The Nashville Predators edged the New York Islanders 4-3 thanks to two goals from winger Viktor Arvidsson. Martin Barzal had a goal and an assist for the Isles.

John Gibson turned in a 41-save shutout performance and Max Comtois netted the only goal to give the Anaheim Ducks a 1-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton made 43 saves backstopping his team to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers. Winger Conor Sheary scored twice for the Sabres.

Max Pacioretty’s game-tying goal set the stage for Erik Haula’s shootout winner as the Vegas Golden Knights nipped the Minnesota Wild 2-1.

SPORTSNET: Chris Johnston reports veteran NHL goaltender Steve Mason might be ready to retire. He’s dealt with several injuries (concussion, knee) in recent years and recently turned down a contract from an NHL club seeking a backup netminder. 

Former NHL winger Daniel Winnik signed a one-year contract with Swiss club Geneva-Servette.

 

 











NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 11, 2018

by | Sep 11, 2018

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 11, 2018

Golden Knights re-sign Max Pacioretty plus the latest on David Krejci, Paul Byron, Luca Sbisa and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.

LAS VEGAS SUN: Soon after acquiring Max Pacioretty yesterday from the Montreal Canadiens, the Vegas Golden Knights announced they had re-signed the left wing to a four-year, $28-million contract extension. Pacioretty, 29, was due to become an unrestricted free agent next July.

Hours after acquiring Max Pacioretty, the Vegas Golden Knights signed him to a four-year contract extension. (Photo via NHL Images)

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pacioretty’s recent statement that he wouldn’t discuss a contract with the Canadiens once the season opened next month spurred his departure from Montreal. It also accounts for the haste in which the Golden Knights signed shortly after acquiring him. Pacioretty’s current contract (six years, $27 million) carries an annual average value of $4.5 million. The Canadiens picked up 10 percent of that for this season.

Cap Friendly indicates his new deal is worth an AAV of $7 million, paying him $10.5 million in actual salary in 2019-20, $7 million in 2020-21, and $5.25 million in each of the final two seasons. He won’t receive performance bonuses but it does come with a modified no-trade clause (10-team no-trade list), something he doesn’t have in his current deal.

It’s a fair deal for Pacioretty, a five-time 30-goal scorer who was underpaid for most of his current contract.The lack of a state tax in Nevada means he’ll keep much more of his salary than he would’ve had he re-signed with the Canadiens. It will also make him the Golden Knights’ highest-paid forward and tie him with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with the highest annual cap hit.

Some might question the Golden Knights payingthat high AAV to a soon-to-be 30 year old winger but the term is a reasonable one. If Pacioretty’s regains his 30-goal form, this deal could prove worthwhile for a club hoping to prove itself more than a one-year wonder. 

NESN: A visa issue will prevent center David Krejci, a native of the Czech Republic, from joining his Boston Bruins teammates in China for their upcoming exhibition games with the Calgary Flames.

NHL.COM: The Bruins have signed forwards Lee Stempniak and Daniel Winnik to professional tryout agreements.

CBS SPORTS: Canadiens winger Paul Byron expects to be ready for the start of training camp after recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

TSN: The Canadiens also re-signed center Michael McCarron to a one-year, two-way contract worth over $875K at the NHL level.

MLIVE.COM: Veteran forward Jussi Jokinen will be attending the Detroit Red Wings training camp on a tryout basis. 

TSN: Free-agent defenseman Luca Sbisa will join the New York Islanders on a professional tryout offer. 

EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Edmonton Oilers have signed right wing Alex Chiasson to a PTO.

 











NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 5, 2017

by | Oct 5, 2017

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 5, 2017

The 2017-18 NHL season has begun. Check out the latest notable news in your morning coffee headlines.

EDMONTON SUN: Connor McDavid tallied a hat trick as the Edmonton Oilers blanked the Calgary Flames 3-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid is wasting little time picking up from where he left off from last season’s MVP performance. As for the Flames, the good news was goalie Mike Smith gave up only two goals on 44 shots. The bad news is their vaunted defense didn’t play well against McDavid and company. 

NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Wayne Simmonds also netted three goals to lead the Flyers to a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks.

STLTODAY.COM: Alex Pietrangelo scored twice, including the winner in overtime, as the St. Louis Blues spoiled the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Cup banner night with a 5-4 win. 

TORONTO SUN: Patrick Marleau scored twice while Auston Matthews and James van Riemsdyk had three-point performances to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 7-2 beat down of the Winnipeg Jets. 

WINNIPEG SUN: The Jets yesterday announced the signing of winger Nikolaj Ehlers to a seven-year, $42-million contract extension. His new deal begins in 2018-19 and is worth an annual average value of $6 million. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Jets wasted little time locking up the skilled 21-year-old Ehlers, who followed up a promising 38-point NHL debut in 2015-16 with a 25-goal, 64-point effort last season. He finished third among Jets scorers in assists and points and fourth in goals. A highly-skilled winger, Ehlers is a valuable part of the Jets’ offense. Given his upside, this contract could look like a bargain in a few years. 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: The Blackhawks officially placed sidelined winger Marian Hossa (skin condition) on long-term injury reserve yesterday and signed defenseman Cody Franson to a one-year, $1-million contract. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No surprise on either count. Franson was on a professional tryout offer with the Hawks but it was widely assumed he would make the roster. 

ORANGE COUNTRY REGISTER: Wednesday was a busy day for the Anaheim Ducks. They signed defenseman Josh Manson to a four-year, $16.4 million contract extension and placed veterans Ryan Miller (upper-body injury) and Patrick Eaves (lower body) on injured reserve. Manson will earn $3.25 million in 2018-19, $4.25 million in 2019-20 and $4.45 million in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

TWINCITIES.COM: The Minnesota Wild signed forward Daniel Winnik to a one-year, $660K contract. Winnik attended Wild training camp on a tryout offer. 

NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON: The Capitals yesterday signed winger Alex Chiasson to a one-year, $660K contract. Chiasson attended Capitals training camp on a PTO. 

TSN: The Vegas Golden Knights inked free agent forward Brandon Pirri to a one-year, two-way deal worth $650K at the NHL level. 

MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens traded defenseman Zach Redmond to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for gritty winger Nicolas Deslauriers. The latter will report to the Habs’ AHL affiliate in Laval. 

CBS SPORTS: The Canadiens also shipped forward Andreas Martinsen to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchanged for forward Kyle Baun.

TSN: Former NHL forward Jiri Hudler is accused of creating an outburst during a recent flight to Prague. He is alleged to have “in which he threatened flight attendants, demanded cocaine and tried to urinate in a food cart.” Hudler denies the allegations.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wowsers! Sounds like a scene from a Hunter S. Thompson story. 

 











NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 1, 2017

by | Oct 1, 2017

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 1, 2017

Updates on Kyle Turris, Marian Hossa, Scottie Upshall and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines. 

OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports contract discussions between Senators general manager Pierre Dorion and center Kyle Turris are described as “healthy”. That’s giving rise to the possibility the two sides could work out an agreement before their season opener on Thursday.

If not, however, it won’t be cause for concern. Turris is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next July but the Sens could get him re-signed before then. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Garrioch also said it’s rumored the Turris camp seeks a seven- or eight-year deal in the range of $6 million annually. I can see him getting that much. If the Sens won’t pay it, another club certainly will via free agency on July 1. I think he’ll be staying in Ottawa.

THE ATHLETIC: The Chicago Blackhawks are still awaiting approval from the league to place sidelined winger Marian Hossa on long-term injury reserve on the second day of the season. Hossa will sit out the entire 2017-18 campaign because of a persistent skin condition related to his hockey equipment. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The decision will come before the Blackhawks submit their cap compliant roster by the 3 pm ET deadline on Tuesday. I believe they’ll get approval to do so, probably on Monday. 

STLTODAY.COM: The St. Louis Blues brought back forward Scottie Upshall on a professional tryout offer. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Given the Blues recent rash of injuries I expect Upshall will soon ink a one-year deal with them.

TRIBLIVE.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins released veteran center Jay McClement from his professional tryout offer. 

THE ATHLETIC: Daniel Winnik’s tryout with the Minnesota Wild is over. He’s free to sign with the Wild or another NHL team. 

Buffalo Sabres left wing Nicolas Deslauriers and Montreal Canadiens center Peter Holland are the two notable players placed on waivers yesterday. 

 











NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 13, 2017

by | Sep 13, 2017

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 13, 2017

Calgary Flames announce they won’t pursue a new arena deal with the city.

Flames not pursuing new arena deal plus latest on Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.

CALGARY SUN: Flames president and CEO Ken King said Tuesday the team’s ownership will no longer pursue a new arena deal with the city of Calgary. The club will continue playing in the 34-year-old Scotiabank Saddledome but will no longer invest in the building.  “We’ll just go on and run our business and do what we can to operate and try and figure out what the future will look like at some point later,” said King.

League commissioner Gary Bettman believes there would be long-term consequences, suggesting Calgarians make their voice heard on the subject in the upcoming municipal election. Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is seeking a third term and has clashed several times with King over a new arena.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames ownership looked north to Edmonton, saw the Oilers get a brand new, state of the art arena with the city picking up half the cost and want the same thing. The city of Calgary, however, was reportedly willing to front $200 million of a proposed $890 million arena project.

In my opinion, the timing of King’s announcement and Bettman’s talk of consequences are designed to to turn the arena issue into an election topic in hopes of either bringing about a change of municipal leadership or forcing the current one to bend on the issue.

NBC SPORTS: The city of Seattle was scheduled yesterday to hold a press conference announcing the unveiling of a new NHL-friendly $660 million arena. However, the presser was cancelled as Seattle mayor Ed Murray resigned over sexual abuse allegations. It’s unclear how Murray’s resignation affects these plans.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: If this proposal goes through you can bet Seattle will be linked to the Flames as a relocation option if there’s no resolution to that club’s arena issues. 

OTTAWA SUN:  Senators president Tom Anselmi predicts it could take four to five years for his club to move to a proposed downtown arena at LeBreton Flats.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Senators are reducing their seating at Canadian Tire Centre this season because of lower than expected attendance last season. One has to wonder if that will affect the seating in their proposed new venue. 

SPORTSNET: Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said he was willing to waive his no-trade clause for the Calgary Flames before last season’s trade deadline. Fleury, however, hoped to finish the season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the club opted to keep him. By the time the playoffs were over, it was a foregone conclusion he was going to the Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury said he’s fine with how things turned out. 

TRIBLIVE.COM: Speaking of the Penguins, defenseman Kris Letang is cleared to join his teammates in training camp. He underwent neck surgery last April that sidelined him from the 2017 playoffs. 

NHL.COM: The Minnesota Wild are bringing free-agent forward Daniel Winnik to training camp on a tryout basis. 

NBC SPORTS: New York Islanders forward Alan Quine will miss the next four-six weeks with an upper-body injury. 

ARIZONA SPORTS: Former Coyotes star Shane Doan is among the 2017 inductees into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. 

SUNSENTINEL.COM: The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning partnered with the NHL and NHLPA to donate $2.7 million for Hurricane Irma relief. 

CSN MIDATLANTIC: The International Ice Hockey Federation assured the NHL that it won’t allow players under NHL contract to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. 

 











NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 23, 2016

by | Oct 23, 2016



NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 23, 2016

Teemu Selanne scores one of his two penalty-shot goals to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-5 win over the Edmonton OIlers at the 2016 Heritage Classic alumni game.

Teemu Selanne scores one of his two penalty-shot goals to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-5 win over the Edmonton OIlers at the 2016 Heritage Classic alumni game.

Jets defeat Oilers in Heritage Classic alumni game, latest injury updates & more in your NHL morning coffee headlines. 

NHL.COM: Teemu Selanne scored twice and set up three others to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Saturday’s Heritage Classic alumni game before over 31, 000 fans at Winnipeg’s Investors Group Field. Oilers great Mark Messier scored twice, while Wayne Gretzky admitted this was probably the last alumni game he’ll be skating in. “I stink. I’m really bad,” he laughingly said in the post-game press conference. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I usually enjoy these outdoor NHL alumni games. While the skills of the now-retired players have obviously declined, some of them still show flashes of the brilliance that made them NHL legends. Selanne and Messier were prime examples in this game, and it was great seeing those two playing for the teams where they began their illustrious NHL careers. As for Gretzky, it’s obvious the 55-year-old has had little time to play any sort of competitive hockey at this stage in his life. In a recent interview, The Great One said he’d only been on skates twice in the last two years. 

In notable NHL action last night:

David Perron’s four-point night (three goals, one assist) carried the St. Louis Blues to a 6-4 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Taylor Hall’s overtime goal lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Before the game, the Devils unveiled a statue honoring long-time goaltending star Martin Brodeur.  

New York Rangers rookie Jimmy Vesey scored twice to help his team down the Washington Capitals 4-2. Capitals forward Daniel Winnik clarified that he didn’t lose a piece of his ear as originally reported while blocking a shot in a recent game, though it admitted it was “pretty chewed up.”

Jakub Voracek scored twice to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Despite icing a lineup depleted by a bout of food poisoning, the Nashville Predators defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1. 

Gustav Nyquist scored twice and Jimmy Howard made 30 saves to give the Detroit Red Wings a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks. The Wings were playing without forward Justin Abdelkader (lower-body injury). 

Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves backstopping the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-0 shutout over the Dallas Stars. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to have difficulties playing with a lead, as the Chicago Blackhawks rallied for a 6-5 shootout victory. Earlier in the day, the Blackhawks announced defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk will likely miss up to a month to an upper-body injury, believed to be his right arm. 

The Los Angeles Kings handed the Vancouver Canucks their first loss of the season with a 4-3 shootout win. 

Shane Harper tallied his first two career NHL goals to help the Florida Panthers down the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. 

LOS ANGELES TIMES: The LA Kings lost another goaltender to injury, as Jeff Zatkoff was sidelined in practice with a lower-body injury. The Kings called up Jack Campbell as his replacement. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE:  I’ll have more on the Kings goaltending later this morning in the Rumor Roundup. 

TSN:  The first quarter escrow clawback rate for NHL players this season has been set at 15.5 percent. 

NEWSDAY: New York Islanders players are openly questioning the quality of the ice at Barclays Center this season. Isles forward Cal Clutterbuck called the ice surface “unplayable”. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s also generating more speculation the Isles ownership are looking for a site in New York to construct a new arena.

CBC NEWS: Former Montreal Canadiens head coach Jacques Demers was hospitalized last night after suffering his second stroke this year. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Here’s hoping Demers makes a swift and full recovery.