Kukla's Korner

Hello? NHL?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 02:47 PM ET | Comments (18)

from Ray Ratto of CSNBayArea,

We are not expecting a Gary Bettman sighting for Game 4 of the Los Angeles Kings-San Jose Sharks series Tuesday night. Or for Game 5 on Thursday, and probably not Game 6 on Sunday, either. And maybe not even for Game 7, either. We remain hopeful for Game 8, though.

Too bad, too. The one time the Bay Area would actually like to see him, he’ll find himself too busy tending to the three series that haven’t been designated as undercards.

And yes, this is still the undercard for whatever other series there is, because that’s the way the sport has always operated. Like the Stanley Cup itself, it is a series of rings, and the further away from the center you get, the less intriguing you are.

Yes, the Sharks are playing the defending Stanley Cup champions in a series that has had enough of everything yet not so much that people aren’t willing to watch more. But they are not members of the Original Six, like Chicago and Detroit and New York and Boston. They do not have Sidney Crosby, like Pittsburgh. And they do not have Canada, like Ottawa.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

HNIC’s pre-Game 3 musical montage

Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik

05/21/13 at 02:22 PM ET | Comments (8)

HockeyWebCaster on YouTube posted the CBC's opening montage prior to Game 3 of the Red Wings-Hawks series, and it's pretty slick:

Update: For the record, I enjoyed the post-game montage, too, and it leads off a "Hockey Night Online" post-game show in which P.J. Stock and Andi Petrillo discussed Game 3:

Continue Reading »

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Kearns Finally Found The Right Situation

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 01:25 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Eric Gilmore at NHL.com,

 San Jose Sharks forward Bracken Kearns already had played for seven different minor-league teams over six-plus seasons before he made his NHL debut, Oct. 20, 2011, as a member of the Florida Panthers.

Kearns turned 32 two days before making his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, May 14 for the Sharks, in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Kings.

If the Sharks gave out awards for Most Patient Player, it undoubtedly would go to Kearns, the son of former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Dennis Kearns.

"My dad's first year in the NHL, he was 26 and he played 10 years," Kearns said. "He was a bit of a late-bloomer. He always told me in this game you need somebody to like you, a GM or a coach. Sometimes you have to go through people who aren't really big on you until you find the right situation, and this organization's been really good to me."

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, San Jose Sharks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: bracken+kearns

Red Wings-Blackhawks post-Game 3 tailings and off-day news: on Pavel Datsyuk and the vampire squid

Blog: The Malik Report By George Malik

05/21/13 at 01:18 PM ET | Comments (19)

Updated 6x at 3:10 PM: The Red Wings aren't practicing today and I'm not sure whether the Blackhawks are skating thanks to the two-day break between games and the simple truths that a) practice for practice's sake doesn't necessarily register with players (less is more) and b) everyone is banged-up to some extent at this time of year, so "rest is a weapon," as Mike Babcock would say.

But there's a preponderance of Wings and Hawks-related news that either didn't quite make the recap or overnight report cut or plain old popped up during my four-and-a-half hours' worth of sleep. I will leave Sportsline's Brian Stubits, Yahoo Sports' Harrison Mooney and the Score's Justin Bourne's astonishment at a goofy comment by Glenn Healy to you  (according to Mr. Healy, Pavel Datsyuk doesn't have all that much hockey god-given talent; Bourne, Grantland and Deadspin of all places offered analyses of last night's game as well)...Well, okay, here's Healy. Cue the jaw-drop:

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Detroit Is Finding New Ways to Win

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 12:06 PM ET | Comments (18)

from Lynn Zinser of Slap Shot at the NY Times,

Notice has officially arrived in Chicago that the N.H.L. playoffs have started. Perhaps part of the Blackhawks’ problem is that they are actually playing games in Detroit at the moment. Maybe the hockey gods should start delivering such things by text message. Thus, the Blackhawks would have been warned that Detroit no longer looks much like that identity crisis team that barely sneaked into the playoffs and whom Chicago had little trouble with in the regular season.

Somehow, the Detroit team that has dug its fingernails deep into this second-round series with Chicago not only found an identity, but made it a not-so-charming one. The franchise that used to pride itself on skating rings around opponents and scoring goals out of the how-to-create-a-highlight-reel textbook is now knocking Chicago around for a stunning 2-1 lead in their series.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Dater Updates Roy’s Coaching Status With Avs

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 10:18 AM ET | Comments (17)

via Adrian Dater of All Things Avs,

Time will tell if Patrick Roy’s brother jumped the gun a little — or a lot, like all the way over — on his proclamation to me on the phone and on his own Facebook page that Patrick will be the next coach of the Avalanche.

The Avs this morning are saying there is no deal in place. That’s about all they’re saying so far. So, we wait and see what happens. As my story last night said, the Avs would not confirm Stephane Roy’s assertion and that remains the case.

My belief: the Avs and Roy are in negotiations on a possible deal. But until a deal is done, it’s not. This still may not happen at all. We just have to wait. Roy wanted a lot of money in 2009 to be the coach – my reporting said he wanted a four-year deal at $3 million per, while the Avs offered four years at $1.75 million per.

I can’t imagine Roy asking for any less than that now. And for an NHL coach, that’s a LOT of money. So, it’s possible money – as it often does – could derail this thing. We shall see.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: patrick+roy

Morning Line

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 08:39 AM ET | Comments (0)

“I think the defining moment in my career was when I went through waivers three times. It kind of changed my outlook on things. The next year I went back to the minors. You can’t get any lower than that. Teams tell you they don’t want you and then another team picks you up and they say, ‘Oh, no, we want you – to play on our minor team.’ And then you get traded.

“It’s tough, it’s a bumpy road. But it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react. I was able to mature quite a bit and figure out that I had to change my ways a little bit to get back to the league and find a way to be successful.”

-Craig Anderson, goaltender for the Ottawa Senators.  Much more on Anderson from Roy MacGregor of the Globe and Mail.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: craig+anderson

Players Missing In Action

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 08:33 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

It has been a tough playoff season for some of the NHL’s rich and famous, the players who are supposed to be difference makers at this time of year. For the teams already on the sidelines, Corey Perry of the eliminated Ducks finished 10th on his team in scoring with two assists in seven games, tied with David Steckel and Ben Lovejoy. Alex Ovechkin was ninth on the Caps in scoring, with two assists in seven games. Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise never got it going for Minnesota Wild.

Then there are the ongoing struggles of players such as the Bruins’ Tyler Seguin with just a single assist in nine games. The Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews has three assists in eight games, and trails Shaw and Bryan Bickell on Chicago’s scoring list. The Kings’ top line of Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Justin Williams has just a single goal in three games vs. San Jose, and it came on a 5-on-3 power play attempt. And most disturbingly, Rick Nash and Brad Richards have been dismal for the New York Rangers, Nash with four points in nine games, Richards limited to a single point thus far.

Makes you wonder what kind of paydays a very average free-agent crop is going to get this summer. Will we finally see the end of those dog-and-pony shows that some agencies like to orchestrate? You gotta hope so.

read on for some Wings, Kings and Patrick Roy talk...

Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Hockey Talk On A Tuesday Morning

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 08:21 AM ET | Comments (5)

from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

- The Minnesota Wild may want to rid themselves of a chunk — possibly two-thirds — of Dany Heatley’s $7.5-million salary with the amnesty buyout. But they can’t buy out an injured player, and Heatley recently had knee surgery.  He’s essentially a secondary player making first-line money.

- The Montreal Canadiens, meanwhile, will take about two seconds to use the buyout on defenceman Tomas Kaberle, who will make $4.25 million next season.

- Former NHL GM Craig Button wonders if teams will try to sign free agents to one-year contracts so they can see where the salary cap goes in 2014-15. It’s coming down about $6 million from the 2012-13 season, but maybe it will go back up to $70-million-plus in 2014-15.

more notes...

Also from Matheson,

- Will the Rangers use an amnesty buyout, which would be two-thirds of what’s left on (Brad) Richard’s salary, or about $25 million? That would be a substantial fall from grace for Richards, the former playoff MVP in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2004 Stanley Cup win. What is it with players who sign long-term deals with the Rangers? Scott Gomez, Bobby Holik. Do they go to New York to kill their careers?

- Red Wings forward Valterri Filppula teases you with high-end plays like his backhand goal in Game 2 on Saturday in a 4-1 Detroit win against the Chicago Blackhawks, but he’s done little to increase his value on the open market when free agency starts July 5. He has been outplayed by rookie Gustav Nyquist during the playoffs, giving Detroit lukewarm secondary scoring behind Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

Filppula makes $3 million. Is he really worth any more than that to another team off 17 points in 41 regular-season games and five in the playoffs?

much more

Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- Detroit’s 3:00 Minute Mark Warm-Up Tradition Explained By Kris Draper

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

05/21/13 at 07:42 AM ET | Comments (3)

Cassie Campbell of HNIC caught up with Draper to talk about the origination of this tradition.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: kris+draper

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