Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: NHL-Talk

ESPN Is Needed

by Paul on 05/24/07 at 10:16 AM ET
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from bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

But here’s what’s even harder to imagine: ESPN failing to have hockey mentioned in the first 30 minutes if it were involved with the sport. Once the NHL left ESPN, it basically ceased to exist.
It’s not just “SportsCenter.” If the NHL were carried by ESPN, they’d be talking about it on the “Dan Patrick Show” (not a word Tuesday in the more than 90 minutes we suffered through) and the stars of the sport would be schmoozing with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic on their highly popular morning show.
Such exposure generates interest and interest generates ratings and revenue.

more

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Concern Over The Cap

by Paul on 05/23/07 at 09:55 PM ET
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from WGR550,

Buffalo Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn dropped by the WGR studios on Wednesday afternoon to chat with Mike Schopp and The Bulldog on a number of topics surrounding the organziation….
He expressed concern over the fact that the NHL salary cap may reach $48 million this year. Quinn feels it’s counterproductive to the original plan of the cap during the lockout.

more on the Sabres… Another management type concerned about the cap, the one the owners agreed upon!!!
Regular KK readers may recall another team doing the same about a month or so ago, but it has been a long week and I can’t recall who it was.

Filed in: NHL Talk, Buffalo Sabres, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The Bedrock Of The NHL

by Paul on 05/23/07 at 10:31 AM ET
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from Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette,

Here’s something Bettman clearly doesn’t understand: Canada is the bedrock of the NHL. Even with the European influx, we provide the bodies and the heart and the people who will pay through the nose and battle their way through a blizzard to watch the game.
Perhaps for a change, Bettman should try to make the U.S. networks want the NHL, rather than the other way around. Perhaps he should act as though he actually believes hockey is worth paying for.
And maybe he should pretend that he can find Canada on a map. We’re right up here, Gary - due north.

more

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Consistency Is The Goal

by Paul on 05/21/07 at 08:31 PM ET
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from Al Strachan at Fox Sports,

Perhaps hockey fans have to accept the fact that there will never be justice in officiating. But it might be nice if there were fewer injustices.
Hockey is one of the most difficult sports to officiate. In fact, it may be the most difficult.
Baseball is almost without exception, relatively simple, black-and-white calls. A runner is either out or safe. A pitch is either in the strike zone or it isn’t.
Basketball and football require a bit more judgment, especially on calls like interference and holding in football, and charging in basketball.
But until recently, hockey officiating required judgment calls and very little else. The game had evolved to the point that calls were purely subjective, varying from night to night depending on the referees’ whims.

continued

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New Division In Order To Increase Revenue

by Paul on 05/21/07 at 02:18 PM ET
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via Tripp Mickle at Sports Business Journal (paid sub.),

The NHL is proposing the creation of an enhanced club services division that will share business practices in hopes of increasing league revenue by at least $85 million over the next five years.
Teams would be asked to help each other boost revenue by sharing business practices.
The proposal, which will be brought before the board of governors for a vote on June 20, calls for the creation of four account teams that will work with eight clubs each. Like the NBA’s team marketing and business operations department, the group will be designed to help those clubs maximize ticket and sponsorship sales, team sources said.
The NHL acknowledged that there is a proposal but declined to discuss it in advance of the board of governors meeting.

Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Many Nations In The NHL

by Paul on 05/21/07 at 08:41 AM ET
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from Bill McGraw of the Detroit Free Press,

But the more you look into the nationality thing in hockey, the more nothing makes sense, stereotypes disintegrate and Don Cherry sounds like a resounding gong or clanging cymbal, in the words of one famous hockey writer.
First of all: Brian Burke, the guy who built the proto-Canadian Ducks. He was born in New England and grew up in Minnesota. He might be uptight, but he’s no Canadian.
In Sunday’s game between the Wings and Ducks, there was absolutely no pattern to nationality. I checked.

read on

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Too Many Issues

by Paul on 05/21/07 at 08:03 AM ET
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from Bob Keisser of the Long Beach Press-Telegram,

Anyone who has ever considered himself a hockey fan would testify on a Zamboni-sized bible that it’s a great sport and one of the most exciting to see in person. The Detroit-Anaheim series that the Ducks now lead has been every bit as entertaining as the Warriors-Mavs and Suns-Spurs NBA series.
But the sport has made so many errors over the years that it has fallen from one of the Big Four sports to a sport barely in the top 10. Chances are if you’re not a hockey fan, you probably think a Red Wing is something on the menu at Hooters and a Blue Jacket something you buy at J.C. Penney.
Seriously. After the NFL, baseball and the NBA, NASCAR has become one of the Big Four. They’re followed by the Olympic Games, college football, college basketball and golf. Tennis may even rank higher since it at least has four majors.

read on

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Rangers Face Salary Issue

by Paul on 05/20/07 at 10:09 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

The Bobby Holik signing- bonus grievance against the Rangers due to be heard late next month is likely to have an adverse impact on next season’s team, Slap Shots has learned.
If the Blueshirts lose the case - which will be heard in conjunction with similar grievances filed by Jed Ortmeyer and Darius Kasparaitis - they will be liable for a $1.52 million salary-cap charge against next season’s roster, we’ve been informed by individuals with knowledge of the case.

continued and some NHL trade talk…

Filed in: NHL Talk, New York Rangers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Goodbye Beer

by Paul on 05/19/07 at 10:23 AM ET
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from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,

“Yeah, things have changed,” Maple Leafs defenceman Wade Belak said. “I came into the league hearing tales of guys who got hammered all the time after a game, some because they were too scared to fly (during the expansion years, when trains became planes).
“Myself, I listened to the great drinking stories of people my dad’s age. I’ve been on teams where there’s a big keg in the room.
“I think everyone still enjoys a nice, cold beer after a game, but now you have to weigh that against the risk to your career, a DUI charge and the chance you’ll really hurt someone.”

read on

Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The Game Is Being Ruined

by Paul on 05/18/07 at 12:27 PM ET
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The Star Phoenix did a Q & A with former NHL defenseman Brad Marsh,

To me, the new rules and the officiating are ruining the game and they’ve taken those rules and put them in minor hockey. We’re not producing any skilled players at the novice, atom and pee wee levels because three-quarters of the game is spent in the penalty box. I coach minor hockey. Brendan Shanahan talks about this, this and this. He’s never stood behind a minor hockey bench and he’s never run a minor hockey practice. I know what the rules are doing to minor hockey. They’re ruining minor hockey. Period.

more from Marsh…

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