The North American portion of the 2024-25 regular season begins on Tuesday. Check out the latest injury updates, contract signings, waiver claims, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL NORTH AMERICAN SCHEDULE BEGINS TUESDAY
NHL.COM: The NHL season began last week in Prague, Czechia between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL Global Series. The North American portion of the schedule begins Tuesday with a triple header televised nationally in Canada and the United States.
The schedule opens with the Seattle Kraken hosting the St. Louis Blues at 4:30 ET. It will be a historic game as Seattle assistant coach Jessica Campbell becomes the first woman in NHL history to serve in a behind-the-bench capacity.
The Florida Panthers will raise their 2024 Stanley Cup banner at home before facing off against the Boston Bruins starting at 7 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: South Florida is outside the cone of concern for the approaching Hurricane Milton. For now, this game appears likely to be played as scheduled in Sunrise.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been forced to evacuate. They were expected to depart for Raleigh, North Carolina, on Monday evening with most players bringing along their family and pets. Some made private arrangements to evacuate their families.
The tripleheader concludes with the Utah Hockey Club making its debut by hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
INJURY UPDATES
TSN: The Vancouver Canucks announced forward Dakota Joshua and goaltender Thatcher Demko were placed on the club’s injured non-roster list. Joshua missed training camp recovering from surgery for testicular cancer while Demko’s been dealing with a rare muscle injury in his knee.
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s speculation both players could be sidelined three-to-four weeks.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars head coach Pete DeBoer and winger Jason Robertson returned to the club on Monday. DeBoer underwent an appendectomy two weeks ago and dealt with some minor complications during his recovery. Robertson was sidelined recovering from offseason surgery to remove a cyst from his foot.
CBS SPORTS: The Anaheim Ducks placed goaltender John Gibson (abdomen) on injury reserve. Meanwhile, San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Eduoard Vlasic is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Speaking of the Sharks, rookie center Macklin Celebrini is good to go for their season opener on Oct. 10. He was sidelined last week by a lower-body injury.
TSN: The Calgary Flames placed winger Yegor Sharangovich on injured reserve. He’s listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
NEW YORK POST: Rangers winger Artemi Panarin returned to practice on Monday for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury during a preseason game last week. Meanwhile, the Rangers placed defenseman Ryan Lindgren (upper body) on injured reserve and winger Jimmy Vesey (lower body) on long-term injury reserve (LTIR).
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins placed forward Bryan Rust and Blake Lizotte and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic on IR and placed forward Matt Nieto (knee surgery) on LTIR.
NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres placed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel on IR with a lower-body injury.
TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs placed Calle Jarnkrok, Jani Hakanpaa and Dakota Mermis on LTIR and put Conor Dewar and Fraser Minten on IR.
LATEST NOTABLE CONTRACT SIGNINGS
TORONTO SUN: The Leafs signed winger Max Pacioretty to a one-year contract worth $873,770 and forward Steven Lorentz to a one-year deal worth $775K. They also signed defenseman Cade Webber to a two-year contract extension.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pacioretty and Lorentz attended Leafs training camp on professional tryout offers (PTOs).
DAILY FACEOFF: The Minnesota Wild signed goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to a two-year, $4.4 million contract extension. The average annual value (AAV) is $2.2 million commencing in 2025-26.
The Washington Capitals signed winger Jakub Vrana to a one-year, $775K contract. He attended Capitals training camp on a PTO.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Winger Austin Watson turned his PTO with the Red Wings into a one-year, two-way contract with the club.
IN OTHER NEWS…
TSN: The Anaheim Ducks claimed goaltender James Reimer off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres.
Forward Zach Aston-Reese was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets from the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights claimed forward Raphael Lavoie from the Edmonton Oilers.
The Vancouver Canucks reclaimed goaltender Jiri Patera from the Boston Bruins, who had claimed Patera off waivers from the Canucks last week.
THE WINNIPEG SUN: Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck missed practice on Monday for family reasons. He’s expected to be ready for their season opener against the Oilers on Wednesday.
THE SCORE: Jett Luchanko is set to become the youngest roster player in Philadelphia Flyers history. He was chosen 13th overall in this year’s draft and turned 18 on Aug. 21.
OTTAWA SUN: The Senators returned Carter Yakemchuk to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. Chosen seventh overall in this year’s draft, the 18-year-old defenseman had a strong training camp and performed well in preseason action. However, management felt it best for his long-term development that he return to the Hitmen where he’ll get more playing time this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A smart decision by the Senators. Despite his preseason play, Yakemchuk likely would’ve seen limited action in regular-season play. He’ll be in a better position next season for a full-time roster spot among their top-four blueliners.
RDS: Former NHL player Mike Ribeiro pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault in Texas on Monday. The charge was connected to an event that occurred in June 2021 resulting in Ribeiro being acquitted on two counts of sexual assault earlier this year.
The jury was unable to agree on the final charge. The process of selecting a new jury was slated for Monday but the two sides reached an agreement in which Ribeiro admitted under oath that he sexually touched the victim without her consent.
Ribeiro will avoid prison and must pay a $4,000 fine.