Kukla's Korner

Items Discussed At Today’s GM Meeting

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/13/18 at 06:15 PM ET | Comments (3)

from Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star,

With scoring up and equipment smaller, it was goaltending that dominated the season’s first meeting of NHL general managers.

They talked about embellishment, coach’s challenges and video review, but the league looks as if it’s going to stay the course with no major rule changes expected on any front.

“The big takeaway today is, we’re concerned about the goalies. We addressed a lot of their concerns. They’re important to their team,” said Colin Campbell, NHL director of hockey operations.

But the goalies — some of whom have been complaining about bruises since equipment was made smaller — might not like the league’s response to their complaints.

“There are forwards and there are defencemen that get bruises when they get hit with 100-mile-an-hour shots,” said Campbell. “We brought that to the GMs’ attention. They had no concern with it. We did address the fact we’re not going to tolerate goalies not being happy with calls. We’re getting a few goalies banging their sticks.”

continue for more topics...

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Remember The ‘Trade’ Of Pavel Datsyuk To The Arizona Coyotes?

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By Paul

11/13/18 at 03:30 PM ET | Comments (2)

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

With the Arizona Coyotes in town it seemed like a good time to revisit The Trade.

OK, maybe it doesn’t necessarily deserve capital letters. But it was a noteworthy deal, indeed.

On the evening of the NHL Entry Draft in 2016, the Wings were able to unload the last year of Pavel Datsyuk’s contract after he had retired, eliminating the salary cap charge, to the Arizona Coyotes.

The Wings sent the final year of Datsyuk’s contract and their first-round pick (No. 16 overall) to the Coyotes for Arizona’s first-round pick (No. 20) and second-round pick (No. 53), along with forward Joe Vitale (who never dressed for the Wings).

The Wings drafted defneseman Dennis Cholowski with their first-round pick, and defenseman Filip Hronek with the second-round pick.

Arizona chose defenseman Jakob Chychrun at No. 16 overall.

For many hockey fans in Detroit, the trade will always be monitored because Chychrun was a highly-regarded prospect that fell in the draft that evening.

continued

added 3:49pm, Below, watch Mantha, Abdelkader, Frk and Blashill before the puck drops tonight.

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Play On Boys

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/13/18 at 03:17 PM ET | Comments (0)

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Tom Wilson On Perhaps Being “Branded As A Dirty Player”

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/13/18 at 03:08 PM ET | Comments (3)

from Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post,

On Tuesday morning, Wilson was asked if he’s concerned he could be branded as a “dirty player.”

“I think it’s probably already happened,” he said. “It doesn’t really sit well with me. I never wanted to be put in that category when I grew up playing. I never wanted my name to be associated that way, and at the end of the day, thinking back on it, it’s all happened pretty quick. I never really had that reputation, and all of a sudden, there’s a couple incidents and people are pretty upset. It is what it is. There’s a spotlight on that part of the game right now. I think everyone knows that the physical play is definitely going down a little bit; there’s not as many hits, and the game is getting faster and more skilled. When there are those big hits, it becomes such a hot topic that it just gets instantly scrutinized."

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Wayne Gretzky On The Concussion Settlement

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/13/18 at 01:23 PM ET | Comments (10)

from the CP at TSN,

Daniel Carcillo wants Wayne Gretzky to step up and help the players who protected the hockey legend during his career. But Carcillo, one of the plaintiffs in a concussion lawsuit against the NHL, will have to settle for a show of support for the research that has been done on the issue.

Speaking before the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony Monday night, Gretzky didn't answer whether he felt US$22,000 — the agreed-upon amount in the settlement for each player who opts in — is a good number for the players. However, he did give his thoughts on concussions.

"When I played, we didn't know what concussions were," Gretzky said. "My kids ask me all the time, 'Dad, did you ever have a concussion?' I probably did, but we didn't know. Hopefully we've got enough knowledge now that we protect the players of today, hopefully we take care of the players the best (we) can from the past and we move forward."

The $18.9-million settlement, announced Monday, is with more than 300 retired players who sued the league and accused it of failing to protect them from head injuries or warning them of the risks involved with playing.

The lawsuit, consolidated in federal court in Minnesota, was by far the largest facing the league. The NHL, as it has for years, did not acknowledge any liability for the players' claims in the proposed settlement and can terminate the deal if all 318 players or their estates don't elect to participate.

continued

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  Tags: wayne+gretzky

Jeff Blashill Before Tonight’s Game Against The Arizona Coyotes

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By Paul

11/13/18 at 01:17 PM ET | Comments (1)

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

The Detroit Red Wings' gradually improving offense and power play face challenges tonight against the Arizona Coyotes at Little Caesars Arena (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit)

Arizona is third in the NHL in goals-against per game (2.44) and first on the penalty kill at 91.8 percent, four percentage points better than any other team.

"They work," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "They do a good job with their forwards creating enough puck pressure that they don't have to invest their D as much. So, their D aren't nearly as aggressive as let's say Carolina's D were coming down the walls in the O-zone on the forecheck because their forwards have allowed them enough puck pressure to not have to do it.

"They've gotten good goaltending (from Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper). I would say with OEL (Oliver Ekman-Larsson), with (Niklas) Hjalmarsson, with (Alex) Goligoski, with (Jason) Demers, they've got a number of real good defensemen. They're a sneaky -- and I say sneaky because they probably don't get the respect they deserve -- really good D corps in the league. I think when you take those players and you combine them, you'd probably say it's one of the better D corps in the league. Hjalmarsson's one of the best defensive players in the league, OEL is one of the best D-men in the league."

continued

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Tom Wilson’s Suspension Reduced To 14 Games

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/13/18 at 11:32 AM ET | Comments (5)

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Nov. 13, 2018) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association and National Hockey League announced today that Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson’s 20‑game suspension for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist has been reduced by Arbitrator Shyam Das to 14 games.

Pursuant to this ruling, Wilson is eligible to play in Washington’s game tonight at the Minnesota Wild.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: tom+wilson

An Optional Morning Skate For The Wings

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By Paul

11/13/18 at 10:40 AM ET | Comments (0)

per Dana Wakiji tweets,

de la Rose, Ericsson and Vanek are skating at the optional.

added 10:53am, Wakiji tweets saying Howard in starter's net.

added 10:49am, A look at the Coyotes below...

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Detroit’s Prospect Tournament Adds The Toronto Maple Leafs

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By Paul

11/13/18 at 10:34 AM ET | Comments (1)

DETROIT - Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Ken Holland today announced that the Red Wings will host their annual NHL Prospect Tournament at Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City, Mich., in September 2019. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been added to the eight-team pool, joining the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Red Wings.

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Morning Line- Larry Brooks

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/13/18 at 09:52 AM ET | Comments (1)

“I think that the mainstream media, the mainstream beat writer, provides an invaluable service to the fans. I’m very happy to be here as a mainstream newspaper man. I’m not a member of the media, I’m a member of the press. I think in this era, the importance of the press, the importance of the press knowing how to ask hard questions, being persistent in getting answers, has never been more important.”

-Larry Brooks of the New York Post during his Elmer Ferguson Award speech.  Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post has more.

Filed in: NHL Media, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: larry+brooks

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