Kukla's Korner

Flames Hard To Figure Out

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 10:19 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Calgary Sun,

It sure is a funky coincidence the display of hockey’s stupidity is launched on Canada Day.
Today marks the start of Christmas in July. The presents—really truckloads of cash—begin being handed out all over the place
Smyth is going to be given big bucks and a long-term deal from some team. So will Drury, Daniel Briere, Brad Stuart and Sheldon Souray.
It’s a good bet the Los Angeles Kings are going to dive into the market like they never have before. Likewise, Colorado will be a player and Edmonton intends to.
What about the Flames?
Well, good luck figuring it out. General manager Darryl Sutter will never tip his hand.

read on

Filed in: NHL Talk, Calgary Flames, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Will Oilers Spend Their Money

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 09:49 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,

Lowe is in an interesting position here.
He’s under the gun, not just from the fans but likely from his own coach, to get somebody to make up for the goals he lost with the departure of Smyth, to get a top talent for Ales Hemsky to play with and a first-rate 25-minute man to play defence.
And the money is there.
He doesn’t have handcuffs.
Lowe, I believe, is prepared to break all the Oiler principles on overspending to bag Briere or a Gomez. Probably not Drury.
Sometimes what looks like bad business can be good business.

read on

Filed in: Edmonton Oilers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

No Barriers On Ice

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 09:35 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Mas-Su Valley Frontiersman,

As part of that mission, O’Ree and former NHL Rookie of the Year Henry Boucha (a full-blooded Ojibwa Chippewa) helped found a hockey camp in Wasilla whose goal is to expose Alaskans from all walks of life to the game of hockey.
O’Ree said Friday that the idea behind the camp is to get kids to understand that barriers between races and classes are meaningless out on the ice.
“There’s just one common goal,” he said. “To play together and have fun.”

more

Filed in: Hockey Related Stories, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Where Did It Go Wrong

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 09:32 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Bucky Gleason at the Buffalo News,

Apparently, the Sabres didn’t agree that Briere’s 32 goals and 95 points last season made him worthy of a raise. It’s why they offered
him a five-year deal worth $25 million, hardly chump change for most of us but not even close to what they should have presented with a clear and honest assessment of the market.
Just so you know, Briere would have jumped on the $25 million offer had it been sent across the table on Jan. 1, the day the Sabres could officially negotiate with him, rather than 72 hours before today’s deadline. Reports had Drury being offered some $30 million over five years, yet another lowball effort that would have looked better months ago.
Even now, Drury could stomach making less than full market value if it meant keeping Briere because keeping Briere meant making the Sabres better.

read on

Filed in: Buffalo Sabres, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

This Is Becomming An Annual Event

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 09:29 AM ET | Comments (0)

I posted this last year on UFA Day, and basically it holds true today…

Many of us are keeping our eyes and ears open throughout this holiday weekend, trying to find out who signed where, any trades yet, etc.
We do this with great passion while the players that are actually involved are at their summer home or cottage, on the golf course, at the

World Cup

ballgame or relaxing at their favorite resort.
Should if not be the other way around? Players should have to suffer and gnaw their teeth along with us, trying to tune into three streaming web radio stations at once; a trick I can teach them in a few minutes. I’d like to see

Chara

Briere, Drury or Smyth opening five websites up at once, refreshing them every 30 seconds to see if there is any hint of movement.
If all the GMs would just email me when they sign or trade someone and the player agents do the same, I could get on with my life. I have better things to do, maybe I can watch the

7th

6th game of the SCF in peace, watch my 3 DVD set of the Wings or re-paint the Winged Wheel logo on my garage door.
On second thought, maybe a few Wings who live nearby can come over and re-paint the logo (yes, it still needs to be done)- and please make a beer run for me too (remember, no beer can be sold until noon today!)

To see what it was like a year ago today, start here and go backwards when viewing other pages.  Geez, we had a false signing very early, then the real signings were announced around 2pm.

Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Where To Find Your UFA News

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 09:13 AM ET | Comments (0)

Alanah put together a post yesterday, pointing out the resources available to us for our UFA news.
Check it out and as always, feel free to email or post in the comments or KK Forums with any news you have.
Enjoy your Sunday and Happy Canada Day (in more ways than one)!

Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The SoCal Teams

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 09:10 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the LA Times,

The good news is that the Kings are a good fit for many of the top league’s top free agents, from forwards Scott Gomez, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to defensemen Sheldon Souray and Roman Hamrlik.
And the bad news? The Kings are not alone. The best players available are also right for a majority of teams in the league.
“When you have the number of holes that we’ve got we’re going to have some Wall Street moments, ‘Buy-Sell, Buy-Sell, Buy-Sell,’ ” Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi said.
“Ideally, when you enter free agency,” he added, “you don’t have a lot of holes and you get free agents who can add to your core not build your core.”
Unfortunately for the Kings, their core remains a work in progress.

Burke on Niedermayer and Selanne…

“The only thing that would change that would be if one of them were to tell me something now and I don’t anticipate that happening.”

more (reg. req.) on the Kings, not much more on the Ducks…

Filed in: Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Bruins Hit List

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 09:03 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Boston Herald,

This list includes the likes of LW Brendan Shanahan (who initially hoped to sign in Boston last summer before going to the Rangers, who paid him $4 million); C Peter Forsberg ($5.75 million); C Michael Nylander ($2.28 million); LW Paul Kariya ($4.5 million), LW Slava Kozlov ($2 million); D Brad Stuart ($3.5 million); RW Bill Guerin ($2 million); D Brian Rafalski ($4.2 million); RW Jason Blake ($1.5 million).
A guy who’d seem to fit Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli’s stated goal of acquiring grit up front would be veteran right winger Todd Bertuzzi…

more...link goes to page 2 of the story…

Filed in: Boston Bruins, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Can Leafs Attract Top UFAs

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 08:48 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,

All the gushing about Ryan Smyth or Paul Kariya possibly choosing Toronto as their new nest when bids open at noon today must be factored against whether such players base their decision on Toronto being a viable Stanley Cup contender this season.
Two years out of the playoffs, uncertainty of the general manager’s future and a questionable supporting cast don’t weigh in the Leafs’ favour.
Yet, there is some allure about the Leafs—some might call it a fatal attraction—that is bound to put Toronto in the thick of the pit as the clock ticks towards noon.

more

Filed in: Toronto Maple Leafs, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Thank You Canada

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

07/01/07 at 08:44 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun,

Under the terms of the CBA, no individual player can make more than 20% of his team’s cap, so that means the potential top salary for a player for the upcoming season is $10.06 million.
Wasn’t that what the top players were making before the lockout, leading the game’s leaders to cry the business of the NHL was “broken?”
Makes you wonder why there was a lockout, huh?
Despite the acres of open seats in rinks in America and the lack of an American TV audience, the game appears to be financially healthier than ever. There are two or three factors for that, near as I can see, and they’re all thanks to Canada and its fans.

read on

Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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