Kukla's Korner

Too Many Hats For Mario

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 05:57 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Ottawa Sun via Slam,

Teams in all sports have been accused of letting one player run the organization, but in the case of the Penguins, it's a legitimate fact. By maintaining positions as both player and owner, Mario is tying the hands of all others that attempt to run his franchise. He may enjoy the ability to wear all the hats, but for the sake of the franchise, it would be best if Mario stuck with the one that read "Owner," and hung up the rest.

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Off-Ice Official Needs Work

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 02:54 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the NY Daily News,

Jim Breidenbach, an office official for the National Hockey League, didn't get his job back when the league's lockout ended this fall - and now he's $10,000 behind in rent and facing eviction from his Riverdale apartment tomorrow. "I'm desperate at this point, I'm about to lose everything," said Breidenbach, 58, who has worked for the NHL since 1990. "Hockey was maybe the biggest part of my life, and now it feels like some of me is missing." Like all members of the Rangers off-ice officials crew - who work as goal judges, penalty box operators and timekeepers for the team's 41 home games - Breidenbach lost his job when the lockout began in the summer of 2004. But when play resumed this fall, 12 of the 13 officials were rehired. Breidenbach was not. Breidenbach claimed that an NHL supervisor told him he lost his job because he violated a league rule by talking to the media about his famed hockey memorabilia collection and his dire employment status - an account that two NHL sources confirmed this week.

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Something Missing

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 01:25 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Kamloops This Week,

I promised myself to wait some time before passing judgment on the restructured NHL. Well, my verdict is in and I have to say the disappointment outweighs things about which I should be excited. The hockey, for the most part, is entertaining, but a bit too wide open for my liking. As a fan I miss the all-out wars in the trenches for pucks. I miss the raw emotion of tough, physical play.

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All Strachan

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 12:50 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Al Strachan of the Toronto Sun,

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says that he is convinced the league will be able to make money off its NBC exposure which starts in the new year. Under the arrangement, the league gets no rights fees but it can earn advertising revenues. "We're out selling time," Bettman said, "so that's still an unknown, but it will likely be a revenue source." The NBC arrangement has come in for much criticism but it was a deal of this nature that got the National Basketball Association started on the road to a big contract. With hockey having been revamped to suit American tastes -- shooutous, no ties, etc. -- it's not inconceivable that ratings might start to improve.

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No Rush to Move A Goalie

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 12:37 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Buffalo News,

Don't expect the Buffalo Sabres to trade one of their goalies anytime soon. Rumors circulating around the NHL frequently mention the Sabres and their three netminders, especially now that Ryan Miller is on the cusp of returning from his broken right thumb and Martin Biron is riding a record hot streak. It's no secret the Vancouver Canucks are interested in Biron now that Dan Cloutier is done for the season. But Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier said after Saturday's 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins that he's had no discussions regarding his goalies with the Canucks - or any other team, for that matter. "There will come a decision," Regier said. "The bigger question right now is getting one guy back. Then we'll go from there."

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Get In Shape Penguins

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 12:34 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Globe and Mail,

In the wild, Penguins are stout and slow by nature, but the new coach of the NHL Penguins of Pittsburgh thinks his flock of flightless birds are generally out of shape and poorly conditioned as well. On Saturday night in Buffalo, after his second game and loss behind the bench, Michel Therrien said he has a long week of tough practices planned for his team that lost 4-3 to the Sabres to fall to 8-18-7 on the season, worst in the Eastern Conference. They don't play again until Friday, when the Flyers visit the Igloo.

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Bertuzzi Should Not Play For Team Canada

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 12:26 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Toronto Sun,

Just a few winters back, Hockey Canada sent a team to the world junior championships and every player wore a bright red STOP patch on the back of his jersey. The idea being: If you can read the STOP sign it acts as a symbolic deterrent to prevent players from hitting from behind. This week, when Hockey Canada names its Olympic roster, it will be ignoring its own advocacy for safety if Todd Bertuzzi is somehow named to the Canadian team. And every indication is the Vancouver bad boy will be on the team. But consider the message of the action: It is win at all costs. It is damn the consquences. It is do as we say, not as we do.

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BOG Meeting Didn’t Address Some Issues

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 12:22 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Courier Post,

When the NHL Board of Governors met last week to discuss the state of the NHL, it addressed the viability of keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh, the inner-workings of the new $39 million salary cap, and the feasibility of an expanded playoff format that would increase the number of playoff teams from 16 to 20. Two topics that were not discussed last week have Flyers general manager Bob Clarke tied up in knots: handling the day-to-day challenges of the salary cap, and the interpretation of the new rules. Last Wednesday, while the Flyers were skating in preparation to face the Vancouver Canucks, three players scheduled to be in the lineup the next night -- Eager, Chouinard and Matt Ellison -- practiced with the Phantoms. Why? Because the Flyers did not want to pay them the combined $12,000 for one day of NHL service. "We could," Clarke said, "but it costs too much money on the cap. It just doesn't seem right. We're supposed to have a chance to put the best possible team on the ice. But when you're talking about three players, you're talking between 10 and 15 grand a day against the cap."

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Trying To Get Sykora

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 12:18 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Alan Hahn of Newsday,

Perhaps the greatest compliment anyone has made about the job Rangers coach Tom Renney has done this season comes in the form of disinterest by Anaheim general manager Brian Burke, who sees very little on the Blueshirts' roster that he would take in exchange for scoring winger Petr Sykora. The NHL holiday roster freeze goes into effect Monday, which leaves little time for the Rangers to bring in a third team to make the deal happen for Sykora. We know that Rangers GM Glen Sather has made crystal clear his interest in the former Devil, but what Sather is willing to send in return won't motivate Burke.

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Where’s The Fight

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

12/18/05 at 12:12 PM ET | Comments (0)

from the Baltimore Sun,

"There was no intention on our part to curb fighting," insists Stephen Walkom, the NHL's director of officiating. "If [the reduction in fighting] is a byproduct of new rules, then fine." Fighting has been a part of the NHL since its inception in 1917. It has been a vehicle to protect your own stars and intimidate your opponents. Conn Smythe, an icon in a sport in the early years when he served as a coach, general manager and team owner, explained the importance of fighting when he famously said, "If you can't beat 'em in the alley, you can't beat 'em on the ice."

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