Kukla's Korner Hockey
TSN Insiders Tonight
by Paul on 06/30/22 at 09:25 PM ET
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TSN Hockey Insiders Chris Johnson, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger joing host Kate Beirness to discuss some major topics of interest as the NHL Entry Draft and start of the free agency period are just around the corner.
Watch at TSN and read the segment's transcript.
Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Rebuilds Do Take Time
by Paul on 06/30/22 at 03:59 PM ET
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from Travis Yost of TSN,
But one interesting takeaway is that five years out, the likelihood of a team being inside of the top five is about the same as it is being inside of the bottom five. That is to say: as unique as Colorado’s wildly accelerated rebuild appears to be, it’s similarly unique to be such a poorly performing franchise for so many years.
To that end, it makes some sense why rebuilding organizations like the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators have a multi-year plan. It takes time. But it doesn’t, and shouldn’t, take forever. At some point, organizational strengths (weaknesses) will manifest themselves. For those who adjudicate the performance of front offices and player development, it gives us a reasonable timeline to work with when it comes to expectations.
Rebuilds take time, but they shouldn’t be endless. And the longer they go on, the more critical we should be of roster-building efforts.
more
Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Parade Talk From Denver
by Paul on 06/30/22 at 03:36 PM ET
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from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,
The Avalanche coach was fighting back tears as he spoke.
"This is a surreal moment for me," Bednar said. "I'm going to try not to get emotional but I already am. We love you guys, love you."
Bednar thanked "the level of commitment and trust and patience" that Sakic and the ownership group had in him.
"They gave me my first chance," he said.
He thanked the families of all the players and coaches for their support. He also thanked his coaching staff and the Avalanche support staff.
"They do all the heavy lifting, honestly," Bednar said. "You don't even know how much work these guys do to be successful."
And then about the players, Bednar again was fightning back the tears as he spoke.
"I couldn't be more proud of these guys," he said. "I can't even explain it. I couldn't put it into words. I mean, everyone has a story and I could go through every guy and the sacrifices they made for our team. I'm amazed by every single one of them. I'm so happy for them. I'm so proud of them. I love these guys."
Bednar closed by thanking the fans for their support.
"I love you," he said. "I appreciate it. Thank you for letting me be a part of it."
much more from the parade...
added 3:49pm, watch Bednar from the parade below...
Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Talking Dynasty In Colorado
by Paul on 06/30/22 at 07:53 AM ET
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from Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post,
The first, glorious taste of sweet champagne from the Stanley Cup in 21 years only wet everybody’s whistle.
Avalanche Country thirsts for a big gulp of glory.
With a strong core built to last around defenseman Cale Makar and center Nathan MacKinnon, dare we dream of a hockey dynasty?...
As the Cup was waltzed around the ice during giddy moments immediately after a 2-1 victory against Tampa Bay clinched the championship on a steamy Monday night in Florida, the newly crowned champs approached franchise owner Stan Kroenke, who has built a sprawling sports empire that spans the globe from Los Angeles to London.
“The minute I came down here,” said Kroenke, surrounded by reporters in Amalie Arena, “the players were coming up to me, saying: ‘This is amazing. Let’s do it again.’”
But before taking a breath, Stan the Man quickly added: “That’s hard to do.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Report- Minnesota Wild Trade The Rights Of Kevin Fiala To The LAK
by Paul on 06/29/22 at 04:12 PM ET
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added 4:31pm,
added 4:35pm, LAK release is below.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, | KK Hockey | Permalink
NHL Draft Order, All Rounds
by Paul on 06/29/22 at 03:45 PM ET
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NEW YORK (June 29, 2022) -- The National Hockey League announced today the order of selection for the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft, July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal.
The host Montreal Canadiens own the first overall selection and a League-high 14 overall; the most picks made by a club in one year since the introduction of the 7-round draft in 2005 is 13 (NY Islanders in 2006 and 2008, Florida in 2010 and Carolina in 2021).
The first round of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be broadcast on Thursday, July 7, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+ in the U.S. and Sportsnet, TVA Sports in Canada. Rounds 2-7 will air on NHL Network, ESPN+ in the U.S. and on Sportsnet, TVA Sports in Canada on Friday, July 8 at 11 a.m. ET.
Round 1
1. Montreal
2. New Jersey
3. Arizona
4. Seattle
5. Philadelphia
6. Columbus (from CHI)
7. Ottawa
8. Detroit
9. Buffalo
10. Anaheim
Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Hockey Players
by Paul on 06/29/22 at 12:18 PM ET
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from Michael Traikos of the National Post,
I don’t know how they do it. I really don’t.
Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli, who takes face-offs for a living, revealed that he had sprained the ligaments that hold the collar bone to the shoulder sometime in the Western final. He played through it. Then he dislocated his other shoulder in the next round. And had his arm stepped on.
He didn’t miss a game in the playoffs.
Valeri Nichushkin, who required a walking boot to get around, played with a broken foot. Nazem Kadri, who couldn’t tie his own skates, played with a broken thumb. Ryan McDonagh played with what was simply described as a “mangled finger.”
It seemed like everyone either had a knee sprain or a shoulder sprains. Nick Paul unfortunately had both.
Brayden Point suffered a “significant” tear to his quad muscle, which is kind of essential for skating — much less walking — at the end of the first round. The recovery time is usually four-to-six months. He was back playing in 32 days, before tearing it again after a couple of games.
Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
The First Muslim Player Has Won The Stanley Cup
by Paul on 06/29/22 at 11:50 AM ET
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from Sony Sachdeva of Sportsnet,
For the first time in NHL history, a Muslim player had won the Stanley Cup, and would have his name etched upon it.
Back in the Kadris’ home province, it was a moment many a Muslim hockey lover will never forget. And one that required some agonizing moments endured before it arrived.
Omar Essawi, who’s part of the committee that runs the Muslim ball hockey league I-Slam Hockey out of North York, spent those final, tense moments of Game 6 with eyes flitting between the television and his phone, where his WhatsApp group chats were chiming away frenetically.
“Oh, man,” he says. “Whether it was the I-Slam [group chat] or another hockey group with some Muslims that I play with on the weekend, we were all just kind of anticipating, all just counting down the end of the game.”
It was the same story for Humaira Sedu, founder of Toronto’s Muslimah Athletic Club, an organization providing community for Muslim women who want to play the game. “I was counting down. I was like, ‘30 seconds, 20 seconds, 15,” she says. “My brother had just come home — he was walking in the door and I'm yelling at him, counting down the numbers, like, ‘They're doing it! They're doing it!’”
more
Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Hometown Hockey Is No More
by Paul on 06/28/22 at 08:23 PM ET
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from Sean Fitz-Gerald of The Athetic,
Ron MacLean says he will return to “Hockey Night in Canada” next season, but his weekly workload will be lighter, with Sportsnet confirming it has canceled “Rogers Hometown Hockey,” the show that hop-scotched the country for eight seasons.
It was not immediately clear what the cancelation meant for co-host Tara Slone, who did not return a message from The Athletic on Tuesday. A Sportsnet spokesperson said the network does not comment on personnel matters “out of respect for employee privacy.”
“There’s so much loss for some in this story,” MacLean said in an interview. “That’s first and foremost: I just think of those who are affected.”
continued (paid)
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, d, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Playoff Numbers
by Paul on 06/28/22 at 03:01 PM ET
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via the NHL PR department,
The 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs opened with two weeks of “Mayhem” in the First Round, featured the “Battle of Alberta” in the Second Round, the second-highest scoring Conference Finals sweep in history and a Stanley Cup Final that saw the Colorado Avalanche dethrone the two-time defending champions to claim their first Cup in two decades. A few #NHLStats to tell the story of the highest-scoring playoffs since 1995:
1999 – Year that “All The Small Things” was released by blink-182, with the song becoming the in-game anthem of the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche.
562 – Goals scored in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the fifth most in a postseason that consisted of four or fewer rounds (i.e., excluding 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers).
101 – Average percentage of capacity for crowds at NHL arenas, with 1,655,687 fans attending the 89 postseason games in the first “normal” postseason since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
89 – Games played in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most in a postseason that consisted of four or fewer rounds (i.e., excluding 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers) since 2016 (91).
Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
About Kukla's Korner Hockey
Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.
Email Paul anytime at pk@kuklaskorner.com
