Kukla's Korner

Take A Trip Around The NHL With The Maven

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 02:11 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Stan Fischler of MSG Network,

-Gary Bettman promises that next season the league will give its broadcasters “The best schedule they’ve ever had.” The league – under its new broadcast boss, John Shannon -- will continue to explore ways to improve TV shows. -Paul Maurice has a simple, savvy explanation why the Oilers and ‘Canes reached the Finals: “The players move as five guys on the ice!” Sounds Russian to us. -Don’t be surprised if the NHL changes the Shootout rule to five shooters instead of the current three

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Most NHL Problems Are Off The Ice

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 02:03 PM ET | Comments (0)

from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

On the ice, as the marvelous Stanley Cup tournament showed, the league has its house in order. There are some things to be ironed out, such as the delay-of-game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass and the bosses' tendency to micromanage the on-ice officials in big games, but these are minor matters. Off the ice is a different matter. Almost all of the problem markets remain problems. The problems come in two categories, which are usually linked — lack of interest and bad ownership. However, there is one bright spot — the Pittsburgh Penguins — although the franchise is not yet in the clear. Its future in Pittsburgh depends on securing a slots licence, which will finance a new arena.

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Report- Sakic Stays In Colorado

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 01:50 PM ET | Comments (0)

from RDS (translated),

According to what our colleague Renaud Lavoie learned, Joe Sakic initialed a one year old contract with the Avalanche of Colorado. The agreement will bring back to the captain of the Avalanche 5,75 million dollars

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that Joe Sakic has agreed to terms with the club, keeping the Avalanche captain in Colorado for the 2006-2007 season. “This organization’s success has been due in large part to Joe Sakic, both as a leader and as a premiere player in this league,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President & General Manager Francois Giguere. “Keeping him in an Avalanche uniform was definitely a priority. He still possesses the skills and abilities that have made him so successful for so many years. Like in 2001, he had a chance to become an unrestricted free agent, but chose otherwise.”

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Greater Opportunities For American Players

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 01:33 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Star Tribune,

As a hockey player who once aspired to be a dentist, Lou Nanne never has been fond of stereotypes. Case in point: Most NHL general managers in the early 1980s dismissed American players as too soft, too timid or too inexperienced to make it in their league. Nanne didn't buy it, and the North Stars general manager backed up his belief by making Brian Lawton the first American-born player chosen No. 1 overall in the NHL draft. That 1983 decision still is remembered as a risk that backfired, given Lawton's nine average seasons in the league. But Nanne's confidence in U.S.-born players has been rewarded handsomely since then. A record 12 Americans are ranked as potential first-round picks in Saturday's NHL draft, led by projected No. 1 pick Erik Johnson of Bloomington.

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A Stress Free Summer

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 01:30 PM ET | Comments (0)

from John Buccigross of ESPN,

In some sort of strange way, the lockout and all of its wretchedness didn't end for me until NBC went off the air after Game 7 faster than Brad Pitt rebounds from a broken relationship. It was just the latest slap to the American hockey fan. But we are used to that. We know the greatest byproduct of the internet for us, is that there are pockets of hockey love all over the world. Find them, bookmark them, watch the games and talk to your friends. Anything else is a bonus. Yes, a stress free offseason is here. An summer to look back and look ahead. The lockout is now over. Thank you, fans.

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Now What

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 01:18 PM ET | Comments (0)

I woke up today, did my normal morning update and then said to myself, now what? I have been doing this since February 2005 and today is the first day that I am not pointing you to CBA negotiations, something going on that I feel you would have an iterest in or an upcoming game. I may have missed a day or two, maybe Christmas, but that is about it. I will now start looking at the NHL Draft and the upcoming UFA period. Just a reminder, rumors will start flying around. I will not post anything off of the top of my head. In the title of the post if you see report or rumor, that is what the post will be based on. I find it much easier on everyone to point to something concrete, something we can grasp. If not, all we are doing is guessing. If you have something to pass on, maybe a deal that is going down in your hometown that hasn't reached the media, feel free to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) at any time. I do plan on a vacation in early July and some website tweaking will also be upcoming. Nothing major, no change of format, but a few minor details need to be worked on and enhanced.

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Canucks Close To Naming Coach

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 12:39 PM ET | Comments (0)

via Sportnet,

According to various sources, the Vancouver Canucks are expected to call a press conference today where GM Dave Nonis will address the hiring of a new head coach. Sources told Sportsnet after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final that Alain Vigneault remains the favourite candidate, but another unnamed individual is still very much in the mix. The Canucks hope to have a coach in place before the 2006 NHL Entry Draft this weekend, which will take place at GM Place in Vancouver, BC.

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Is Sullivan Done In Boston

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 12:37 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Boston Herald,

Mike Sullivan has yet to hear from the Bruins whether he still has his coaching job. The silence Sullivan has heard since his interview 1 weeks ago in Ottawa with general manager-to-be Peter Chiarelli is probably loaded with meaning. Multiple, well-placed sources said yesterday it is very unlikely that Sullivan will be back. And at least one source opined the delay by Chiarelli in making a decision may be because the Bruins are still hoping to take a run at Carolina Hurricanes skipper Peter Laviolette.

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Bleepin Right

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 10:53 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Michael Farber of ESPN,

The Stanley Cup was passed from Carolina Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour to Glen Wesley to Bret Hedican and then to the excitable Ray Whitney, who bellowed, on national television, "right," although the word was proceeded by a clearly audible and crude (albeit common) Anglo-Saxonism, an unfortunate adjective that, for a brief instant, turned NBC into HBO. There has been deadwood on championship teams before, but this was the first time there was Deadwood. But give Whitney his due, along with his ring. The NHL did get it -- to paraphrase Whitney- - bleepin' right in 2005-06, from the enforcement of the rules to the removal of the red line to a partnership with the players that will allow the NHL to grow the game, at least incrementally, in its 30 markets.

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Entire Hockey World Conquered

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

06/20/06 at 10:13 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the News and Observer,

As his teammates danced wildly at the other end of the ice, Rod Brind'Amour skated by himself, head bowed and hands on his knees, overwhelmed with emotion. After years of struggle for the captain and the Carolina Hurricanes, he was only minutes away from lifting the Stanley Cup above his head. You could say it took the Hurricanes 10 months and 107 games to win the Stanley Cup, but it really took nine years, countless losses, the trials and tribulations of a slapdash move, two years in Greensboro and a lost season to realize this impossible dream. A franchise once seen as hopeless has now conquered the entire hockey world.

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