NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 5, 2024
Sharks fans turn out to watch Macklin Celebrini scrimmage, a list of the notable remaining UFAs, the Golden Knights face questions in goal, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE MERCURY NEWS: Over 3,000 fans paid to watch 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini during the San Jose Sharks prospects scrimmage on Thursday afternoon. “He’s given a buzz back to the San Jose Sharks organization,” said Todd Marchant, the club’s director of player development.
San Jose Sharks prospect Macklin Celebrini (NHL.com).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Celebrini hasn’t decided if he’ll join the Sharks this season or return to college for one more season. Either way, he’s already giving Sharks fans hope for the future after two difficult seasons.
Speaking of the Sharks, they signed Carl Grundstrom and Ty Dellandrea to two-year contract extensions. Grundstrom was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings last week and will earn an average annual value of $1.8 million. Dellandrea was brought in from the Dallas Stars and gets an AAV of $1.3 million.
DAILY FACEOFF: Winger James van Riemsdyk and defenseman Ryan Suter top the list of the notable players still available in this summer’s unrestricted free-agent market. Others include defenseman Tyson Barrie, and wingers Mike Hoffman and Max Pacioretty.
Younger options include winger Daniel Sprong (27), defenseman Oliver Kylington (also 27), and blueliner Adam Boqvist (23).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The younger players could be affordable short-term options for cap-strapped teams seeking bargain signings to address their roster needs in 2024-25.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: The Golden Knights face uncertainty between the pipes after signing Ilya Samsonov. The 27-year-old netminder is coming off the worst season of his career after struggling with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
There’s also concern over the health of starter Adin Hill. The 28-year-old netminder has been hampered by lower-body injuries stretching back to his days with the San Jose Sharks. His future is also a question mark as he’s eligible to become a UFA next summer.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights signed Samsonov after trading Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals. He won’t face as harsh a spotlight in Vegas as he did in hockey-mad Toronto but he’ll still garner attention this season as he attempts to get his NHL career back on track.
SPORTSNET: Tax-free states had an advantage in this year’s free-agent market. Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Vegas and Seattle combined to spend nearly a quarter of the $1 billion-plus spent in this summer’s UFA market.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The piece also noted that four of the last five Stanley Cup champions were based in places with no state tax. They are Tampa Bay (twice), Florida and Vegas.
One advantage the Lightning and Panthers had was a solid base of homegrown talent, though it was also easier for them to retain that talent at less than market value.
Nevertheless, that’s no guarantee that this year’s big spenders are assured of Cup contention. It’ll be interesting to see how things work out for those teams.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Oilers may have come up short in the Stanley Cup Final but their playoff run proved to be a windfall for the city of Edmonton, netting $280 million partly from overnight attendees. They had raked in $179 million during the first three rounds but the Cup Final pushed those numbers into the stratosphere.
TSN: Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev signed a four-year contract with KHL club SKA St. Petersburg. He collected 118 points in 482 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks from 2016-17 to 2023-24.
YARDBARKER: Forward Denis Gurianov is reportedly expected to sign a two-year contract with KHL team Moscow Dynamo. Chosen 12th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2015 NHL Draft, he has 113 points in 298 games with the Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and Philadelphia Flyers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gurianov enjoyed what seemed like a breakout campaign in 2019-20, scoring 20 goals in 64 games and netting 17 points in 27 playoff games during the Stars’ run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final. However, he struggled to regain that form and was traded to Montreal at the 2023 trade deadline. He split last season between the Predators and Flyers.
TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs have a new ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones.
Bruins … Tyler Johnson could be a nice add he can play C..LW…RW.. on the 3rd line and give them what they need secondary goal scoring
Matt Poitras Missed last day of development camp … I hope he’s not one of those guys that injuries find … he might be in their plans to be the 2nd line center
What? No first-thing-in-the morning, 55-line dissertation on the proper way to mend the Pittsburgh Penguins?
So I’ll post a 34-line dissertation on the 2024-25 seasonal prospect of the Senators. LOL.
I doubt any of who’s left as a UFA option will find his way to Ottawa. The Post media’s Bruce Garrioch appears to be of the opinion that Staios is essentially done adding to the roster and will go into the season with a healthy cap reserve in order to provide “wiggle room” for roster adjustments as deemed necessary when the season begins.
But hold on. Right now, according to CapFriendly, he’s committed to these 19 players: 11F: Tkachuk, Norris, Giroux, Stutzle, Pinto, Batherson, Perron, Greig, Amadio, Gregor, MacEwen – 6D: Chabot, Sanderson, Zub, Jensen, Bernard-Docker, Hamonic – 2G: Ullmark, Forsberg. And, counting the dead cap of $1,625,000 (Korpisalo and White), that leaves him with $3,600,953 with which to sign 4 to get to a 23-man roster.
One player CapFriendly still shows among the minor-league aggregation is big LD Tyler Kleven, but he will almost assuredly be elevated at which point his $916,167 ELC will reduced the reserve to $2,684,286, and early expectations are that 6′ 3″ 205lb left-shooting C Zack Ostapchuk will take the spot vacated by the traded Kastelic, so then they’ll have 21 player committed to for the season with Ostapchuk’s $825,000 ELC further reducing the reserve to $1,859,286.
However, I don’t see them going into the season 2 short of a 23-man roster – perhaps 1 but not 2 – nor do I see the point of any further elevations from Belleville just to sit on their rear-ends in the press box. If Kleven and Ostapchuk are elevated, their line/D and goalie combos could look something like this:
Tkachuk – Norris – Giroux
Stutzle – Pinto – Batherson
Perron – Greig – Amadio
Gregor – Ostapchuk – MacEwen
Chabot – Jensen
Sanderson – Zub
Kleven – Bernard-Docker
Hamonic
Ullmark – Forsberg
So, who fills that 22nd spot and, possibly, 22nd and 23rd should they go to the roster limit … and at what cost?
Personally, I see an improvement in their season with the additions and a better defensive structure under the new coaching – but not nearly enough to propel them into a playoff spot. What I do see, however, are improvements in almost all of the Eastern teams to the extent where it could wind up as one of the tighter races in recent memory from start to finish with fewer points separating the teams at season’s end, and 98 points needed by both WC teams.
George O.: I agree with your assessment. I could see Angus Crookshank making the team on the fourth line instead of MacEwen, with MacEwen being the 13th forward.
I think Max Guenette will get a good shot this year too. You’ve mentioned him a few times and he didn’t look out of place as a third pairing defenseman when I saw him live. He had a good year in Belleville too. Waiver eligibility will likely have him in Belleville to start the year.
BTW, the Sens have more cap space than you mentioned. Colin White’s dead cap hit this year is actually -$625k, not +$625k, so the Sens only have $375k of dead cap space this year.
Thanks Van – didn’t notice that dead cap variation. Every nickel counts – lol.
I know they’re high on Crookshank, who had a very good season in Belleville with 24g 22a 46 pts in 50p, so he’s definitely a possibility with his low ELC.
I do think we’re going to see some positional musical chairs and who, exactly, is sufficiently diverse to play both C and W because, if Norris is good to go (and lasts), the C position becomes a bit crowded with he, Stutzle, Pinto, Greig, Ostapchuk and Gregor all shown primarily as Centers.
That’s why I hope they might put Stutzle back at LW where he played so well in his rookie season (he did struggle at C this past season).
I still would not discount the possibility of Forsberg being moved out if such a trade can be executed.
I think Staios could run a a season with Mando or Mads as the backup. If he isn’t going to show confidence in Ullmark as number one, then we already start the season from a weak attitude.
That could free up may a million? 1.5?
theSaint, they could always try Vegas
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights/latest-news/golden-knights-looking-to-add-backup-goaltender-despite-akira-schmid-trade
@George
I think Forsberg would be a step above anyone else they have signed…
I think Anton is serviceable as a backup and has done relatively okay in Ottawa with some streaky play. But in usual Dorion fashion, WAY too much money thrown at him for what he brings.
plenty of summer still to figure things out. I just don’t like being in the same position as last year with so many roster spots vacant and little cap space.
Ok no Pittsburgh so lets hear George On Ottawa mmmhhhh.
What Ottawa ?
LOL
Since you brought up Ottawa Again..LOL
I was hoping Pittsburgh would go get Chychrun but I saw he was -30
George, was he that Bad, was it a team thing, or just an off year for him, I’m thinking you would know being heavily invested in Ottawa?
Washington got him crap…did we dodge a bullet?
I’ll give you the readers digest condensed version.
Chapter 1.
Rebuild.
The end.
Copy paste and repeat several times daily, it is coming George Lol.
Beats the Hell out of your cynical paranoia and Pengy’s new version of Jack Johnson.
Probably the main reason why Chychrun was not dealt to Pittsburgh is because Staios wanted none of that crap that was apparently “available.”
Also I asked you why Jakob Chychrun was -30 what was the reason he was so bad, and you responded with we didn’t want Pittsburgh garbage in return which wasn’t the bleeping question? Please read first before you just automatically go off..
i said Washington got him did we dodge a bullet and you respond with we didn’t want Pittsburgh’s garbage.,,,For the love of ham sandwiches George that wasn’t what I asked you about….good grief
As Inigo Montoya one said in The Princess Bride: “Let me sum up”.
These five or six or seven players are terrible.
Dubas got fleeced and is incompetent.
Incompetent Dubas should trade all of his terrible players for some star player, because that’ll happen.
Maybe involve a third team, cash, 6 to 12 additional players, and a Zamboni (it always works in the video game, so why not real life).
All better.
Someone’s a genius, Dubas is dumb.
(Not) The End.
“Obsessive–compulsive disorder is a mental and behavioural disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to relieve the distress caused by the obsession, to the extent where it impairs general function.”
It do make one wonder (from The Buttercross Dragon)
it’s funny because everyone compares 8787 to Pengy, but I have found lately he feels like that Bruin fan rick…something… replace “Sweeney” with “Doobie” and then swap some play names and the posts are exactly the same.
Not much talk in Montreal about UFAs, mostly nonsense rumors regarding Necas, Zegras, Laine but I think Sprong would fit in well. He’s not old, 27, not expensive and you can write in 20G.
The Habs have to move out a D or two, via trade, but yes Spong would improve the roster. Since day one of the draft it has been dullsville for Habs fans.
So who do you think they should target? It sounds like Necas might not move after all, the Ducks seek a kings ransom for Zegras, and Patrik Laine comes with too much baggage. Nikolaj Ehlers is slated to become a UFA next summer. Right now, the market seems thin for suitable options.
“seems thin?”
I said the Habs should target Daniel Sprong.
If that was for me, Lyle, I confess my head isn’t filled with great candidates to suggest.
I had hoped the Habs would have chased Middlestadt but that ended quickly.
For today my reply is limited to perhaps Cole Perfetti, as the Jets need help on the back end.
I’d be interested in yours, or others, suggestions.
You saw mine as those were based on rumors and reports linking the Canadiens to those players in the rumor mill. I know Perfetti has come up as a trade candidate but I’m not convinced the Jets want to part with him, especially since they hold the hammer in contract talks with the youngster coming off his ELC. The Habs were also rumored to have an interest in McGroarty but the Jets seem willing to wait him out for now.
Hughes will likely surprise us by swinging a deal for someone we never expected to be available. Then again, he could go into training camp looking at Kirby Dach to provide that extra offense after missing all but two games to a knee injury in 2023-24.
I frankly don’t see the Habs doing anything now, Necas and Zegras are not going anywhere unless a ridiculous offer is made. Ehlets will only be traded if a top 6 forward is coming back. The Jets aren’t trading Perfetti and will bide their time with McGroarty. Laine may be a possibility.
Sprong may be an option but I’m not convinced he can play top 6 minutes.
I’m kinda surprised no one has scooped up UFA Adam Boqvist, but then again, I am basing that mostly on his draft pedigree. He is still very young. How has he falling out of favour so drastically?
I think not sure but Florida Panthers signed him?
In the “low-tax” cities mentioned, there are other positive quality of life issues. Not to say that there aren’t the same in other markets, but LasVegas, Tampa, Nashville, Seattle and Miami are all tourist destinations for a reason. Thus, not only do low income taxes help, but local services and amenities are bolstered by guest taxes that are pretty significant to both the city and the state. Another ‘virtue’ in the eyes of many is that a hockey player and his family can live in relative anonymity in these markets, as the media fishbowl is focused on NFL players and their adventures and misadventures. But the counterpoint of the home town pull and desire to play in original six markets or under the brightest lights is real too, so each team ends up with a full roster and good players—-free agency is not the only, or even necessarily the best way to build a team but its good to be an attractive market if one is stuck with it.
Good points, Richard.
I think the whole “no-tax states” thing as an advantage is somewhat overblown. It’s only five states (Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Nevada and Washington) with this advantage. The Kraken haven’t been helped by it with their efforts to build a contender. The Stars have had their ups and downs over the past decade. The Predators have been on a slow downslide since 2018 culiminating in missing the playoffs last year. Meanwhile, the Lightning are a team in decline and the Golden Knights aren’t exactly renowned for building with homegrown talent.
It does gives those clubs an edge but not a great one. It’s worked out for three of those teams but that could be an anomaly.