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PHT Morning Skate: Hakstol firing fallout; Leafs prepared for offer sheets

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The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins square off as the two most recent Stanley Cup winners renew a bitter rivalry.

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• According to NBC Philadelphia, Chuck Fletcher didn’t plan on firing Dave Hakstol on Monday. Good times! [NBC Philadelphia]

• Planning to submit an offer sheet to one of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ young studs next summer? Go ahead. Kyle Dubas isn’t scared. “Our salary cap situation is set up that we can defend any of those threats with no worry at all. I know (offer sheets) have become a huge topic of late, but I spend zero per cent of my time having any worry about that.” [Toronto Sun]

• William Nylander has some advice for potential offer sheet targets Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner: sign early. [TSN]

• After suffering another concussion, what does the future hold for Corey Crawford? [Sun-Times]

• Matt Duchene could be back for the Ottawa Senators sooner than expected. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Mike Tirico will be the host for NBC’s coverage of the 2019 Winter Classic and 2019 NHL All-Star Game. [NBC Sports Press Box]

• An abdominal injury has put New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider on IR. [NJ.com]

• NHL Seattle looking to incorporate indigenous art into team logo. [King5]

• We’re witnessing a very good Tampa Bay Lightning team. Is this roster the most complete yet? [Tampa Bay Times]

• Mark Scheifele is a stud and has become one of the Winnipeg Jets’ biggest offensive leaders. [Winnipeg Free Press]

• Short-term pain could lead to long-term benefits for the Los Angeles Kings. [The Hockey News]

• Matt Murray is healthy, but should he carry the bulk of the workload for the Pittsburgh Penguins? [Pensburgh]

• It’s been a tough season in net for the Arizona Coyotes, but Adin Hill has been a bright spot. [NHL.com]

• Overcoming adversity will tell us a lot about the 2018-19 New York Islanders. [Islanders Insight]

• What will the NHL scoring race look like at the end of the regular season? [Spector’s Hockey]

• Will Alex Ovechkin score 50 in 50 this season? [Greatest Hockey Legends]

• Arizona State is coming along real well as a NCAA D-I hockey program. [Scotty Wazz]

• A chat with Jay Deutsch, one of the members of the NHL Seattle ownership group, about branding and marketing the franchise, competing with other sports in Seattle, the NBA and more. [Forbes]

• Finally, please check out episode three of Desert Gold: How Hockey Became a Smash Hit in Vegas:

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.