Kukla's Korner

Delay The Party

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 02:41 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

This is not the proper time to honor Al MacInnis, one of the greatest and classiest National Hockey League players of all time. The Blues should postpone the retirement of his sweater number until a much more appropriate time. We understand that tickets have already been sold and travel plans have already been made. But how can the Blues drag MacInnis and his family into this death march?

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Avoid The Sharks

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 02:34 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Terry Frei of ESPN,

The San Jose Sharks' climb back has been long and arduous, even after the benevolent Boston Bruins provided a huge shove of help from behind on Nov. 30. Only 8-12-4 at the time of the deal that brought Joe Thornton to San Jose, the Sharks finally seemed poised not only to secure a playoff spot but to be a bona fide threat to come out of the Western Conference. Actually, maybe it's something in the California water supply. The Sharks join the Mighty Ducks as the fast-closing West teams who fall under that time-honored heading: Teams You Want To Avoid In The First Round.

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We Protect The Pitcher?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 12:46 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (reg. req.),

The Thrashers lost largely without the services of goalie Kari Lehtonen —- unbeaten in shootouts and owner of the NHL's best save percentage in tie-breaking sessions —- who was injured on a play that angered Thrashers coach Bob Hartley. Hartley called Tampa Bay's Chris Dingman "the worst three-minute player in the league" and accused him of purposely running into Lehtonen in the collision that happened with 3:28 left in the first period, leaving Lehtonen with a sprained ankle and knocking him from the game. "He slid — bang! —- two feet in front of the goal," Hartley said of Dingman. "You can't get away with this." "Geez, you can't drive the goalie like this," Hartley said. "We protect the quarterback, the pitcher, what are waiting for?"

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Semin Deal Expected Next Week

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 12:39 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Tarki El-Bashir of the Washington Post,

The Washington Capitals are expecting highly touted prospect Alexander Semin to rejoin the team next season as negotiations to end his nearly two-year hiatus from the NHL enter their final stages. A deal is expected to be announced next week, according to a source. A first-round draft pick by the Capitals in 2002, Semin, 22, likely is the second-most skilled player in the organization behind Alex Ovechkin, the favorite to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

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NHL Ratings

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 12:07 PM ET | Comments (0)

via the Philadelphia Inquirer,

According to Nielsen Media Research, ratings for the games of the new and improved NHL on NBC are down a whopping 21 percent from the numbers on ABC two years ago. Data from the league's OLN (One Lousy Network) telecasts will be available as soon as more than 17 people tune in to a game.

Tuesday, during Flyers-Rangers, OLN kept posting a "We Believe In Hockey!" graphic. Considering that it appeared over the ice during play in a tight game, the message might have better read, "We Believe In Covering Hockey!" With :20 left in regulation, the score tied and play on, OLN put up a graphic giving Mike Knuble's game stats. Only when play stopped did OLN provide an unobstructed view of the ice.

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Rob Blake Not Thinking Contract

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 11:47 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Denver Post,

Don't believe the Avalanche defenseman's recent surge in play has anything to do with the expiration of his contract in 10 days. Money is the last thing he is worried about, Blake says. Of course, money is important. Of course, his departure from the Kings had something to do with roughly 20 million extra dollars he could make with another team instead of the tight-fisted Kings. But Blake says his recent surge has nothing to do with his contract. "It's just not on my mind right now," said Blake, when asked about his contract status. "It's the same as when I came here. I could be a free agent that summer, too. When I came to Denver, it hit me real quick that the only thing anybody cared about around here was winning the Stanley Cup, and we did that.

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They All Want Their P-1

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 11:42 AM ET | Comments (0)

Something we rarely hear discussed, but many good points... from the News & Observer,

Vasicek, 23, is a major-leaguer, one of the best hockey players in the world. He gets a special pass, the P-1 visa, dedicated to the world's top athletes and entertainers. Foreign-born minor-leaguers -- whether they play hockey in a rural Northern town or baseball with the Durham Bulls -- get no such privileges. They stand in line for seasonal worker visas, competing for the same passes used by temporary workers in the hotel and restaurant industries. As the U.S. Senate continues its debate on new immigration policies for the nation, a senator from the hockey-loving state of Maine wants to change life for those minor-leaguers. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, has introduced an amendment that would expand P-1 visas to them.

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Afinogenov Made The Right Decision

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 11:37 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Buffalo News,

Nobody could blame him for having second thoughts. Maxim Afinogenov was coming off the most enjoyable season of his professional career. He played on a championship team in his hometown. He had his friends, his family, his language and his tennis star girlfriend, Elena Dementieva. Why not stay? Afinogenov wrestled with the decision during the lockout last year while playing for the Moscow Dynamo in the Russian Elite League. He's a two-time Olympian, a household name in Moscow. Russian owners are shelling out big money these days, so he could have easily signed a contract and settled into the comforts of home.

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Jack Adams Candidates

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 11:32 AM ET | Comments (0)

from the Globe and Mai,

There's a common thread that has linked the successful campaigns of four teams during the National Hockey League's return this season. It has to do with coaching skills and the difference that calculating bench bosses have made to the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Buffalo Sabres. None of those teams was in the last National Hockey League playoffs, two years ago, before an entire season was lost to a labour dispute.

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Too Late For Oilers

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

04/07/06 at 10:41 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Terry Jones of the Edlmonton Sun,

Murphy, at mission control in Toronto, admitted to Oilers GM Kevin Lowe at the end of the second period that Minnesota video goal judge Sandercock and the league got it wrong. "We got screwed,'' said Lowe. "The video guy here was convinced it wasn't in. The league said 'Go with what you have.' Within seconds Toronto got another view,'' he said of the SportsNet feed. "Then they saw it. It was in the net.'' By that point, referee Don VanMassenhoven had dropped the puck. Once the puck is dropped, there's no reversing a decision.

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