KK Members Blog

I'm a fairly new hockey fan. So as a fairly new fan, it was a surprise to me (and my husband!) how upset I've become about the current hockey lockout and the failure to negotiate a new contract. I didn't realize how much I look forward to hockey each year and how much I miss it and that's what's driving me to write this.

There have been many stories online about how divisive an issue this is. Some fans are only angry at the league, some fans are only angry at the players union and some fans are just angry period!

So what could hockey fans around the world do to motivate the NHL and the Player's Asso. to resolve their dispute? Why not ask hockey fans all over the world, regardless of their personal position on the issues, to write letters to the NHL or the Players' Association or both, to express their thoughts and frustration about the lockout and the failed contract negotiations?

If you like this idea, here are their addresses:

I too am CBA talk weary. At times like this, I embrace my what really turned me on to the sport in the first place, goaltending.

In that spirit, here is a link to InGoal Magazine, the best online publication for goalies.

There are plenty of articles on technique.

All kinds of equipment discussion (even on the worst of days, you will brighten a goalie's life when you talk about equipment).

And numerous articles on goalies at the pro level.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with In Goal Magazine, other than I think it is well done.

I've had my fill of 1) lockout news, and 2) turkey.

While filling with turkey, I had a side dish of football (sorry, tough break Lions fans).

Reference was made to Houston Texan, J.J. Watt's hockey background. A short search (by my son) found this.

Episode 2 in the THREE FLAMES FANS web series.

For those foggy on the details of the lockout, we have two babes with accents walk you through it. And, of course, the Three Flames Fans share their thoughts on the aftermath.

Watch it below and hope you enjoy.

To our US Vets, thanks for being our troops. here is a piece from USA Hockey Magazine.to honor the day

To our Canadian Vets who would frequent KK, thanks for being unwavering allis to our troops, , I'll have to go back a year to say it right (scroll to the 6 minutes into clip)

http://youtu.be/aH9uhaohIBM

The NHL and NHLPA are not getting anywhere, so you both have to stop and read this. l will be a mediator for now or maybe the new Union replacement soon.

Who said the NHL can’t replace players' and still be successful. They did it after the 2004/2005 lockout when they replaced 241 players' that did not return. They either left through retirement or just stayed away after the last lockout. All I need is 51% of the players to join me, that is what is needed to be able to play this season. First we have to get some work done to show that we mean business. I know that there are players' that just want to play but don't want to be seen as a union buster because they would be looked down at. Well guys I am a union guy that see's the NHLPA not going anywhere and I'm here to help.

First I will start off by giving the NHLPA the truth that they don't want the players' to really know. Donald is still talking about the 24% the players' lost in the 2004/2005 lockout and the truth is he does not mention what they have gained since the lockout. I was reading the paper the other day and it is talking about how Joffrey Lupul has seen his salary rise 373% that is an average of 53% a season since the 2006 season. Donald does sell himself to the players' on what he has done for baseball and yes that is the number one or two sport in the United States. In some states hockey falls to maybe 7th or 8th behind Football, Baseball, Basketball, Golf, NASCAR, Soccer, Bowling and even Darts. I have got to hand it to you Mr. Fehr, I don't know how you have the players' convinced in believing in you at the expense of the season being lost and the 241 players that may not be playing next season. My message is to all players'. My union does care about every player on every team and we will get a contract done together as one.

To The NHL:

Where do I begin? During the course of the last seven years since the last lockout, you have seen record growth; growth that many American businesses would kill to have. You have watched your sport increase its fan base year in and year out, even in markets where it usually would not make sense (Phoenix, Carolina, etc.). Now here we are: a month into another lockout, with no end in sight. You guys have had seven years to figure this issue out. You wait until a month before the season starts to even begin negotiating. And furthermore, you have done so, all the while pointing fingers at the NHLPA. You expect most fans to be ignorant to the nature of the business, and while some are, that does not make all of us. Why is it, that in every one of the CBA’s under Gary Bettman’s watch, has there not been one to be solved without a work stoppage? During his tenure as your head in command, he has caused twice as many missed games as any other commissioner in sports. Now when you translate this to any other business in history, you will not find one CEO of any business who is responsible for as much loss in production that is still gainfully employed by said business. It astounds me that you guys not only continue to employ this man, but you do it while encouraging his behavior of “well we will not meet without preconditions; we will not meet unless you are willing to operate under our framework,” mentality. You are a group of multi billionaires, yet you squabble over making even more. Meanwhile, you do not think about nor care about the person making burgers in your arena; or the person tearing tickets and directing traffic for your arena. You have not only harmed the well being of the sport, you have also damaged many people’s financial wellbeing who need that extra $8.50 an hour job. You make more while ordering your latte than they make in a month, yet you continue to demand more.

If the CBA is a working attempt to fix all the current problems in the NHL, can we also mention the Magic Point that appears in overtime games and is invisible in games that are decided in regulation? That is one of the most nonsensical rules ever devised.

The fix is quite simple (for those who payed attention in junior-high math): One game, one point. Period.

If Team A wins a regular-season hockey game in regulation, they are awarded one point. If the two teams are tied after regulation, the eventual winning team (via overtime play or the shootout) will be awarded 0.75 points, and Team B that lost in overtime will receive 0.25 points, still equaling the single point awarded for a single game. There's no reason for an extra point to *poof* into existence just because two teams cannot win in regulation. The winning team should not get the full value of the win because they could not triumph in 60 minutes, and the eventual losing team should get a twenty-five percent piece of the single-point pie for not losing in regulation. (Plus, the scaling is better: three overtime losses have equal weight to one overtime win and four OT losses equal a regulation win, rather than the current two OT losses equaling the points of a single regulation win.)

This way, we might see teams actually play late into the third period as if they wanted to win the game, and not just skate around like they're auditioning for Battle of the Blades. All due respect.

I think this would put a little more game in the product, and take out gaming the rules for the magic point.

The Associated Press and Fox News are reporting that the Seattle city council has just approved the construction of a new $490 million arena with the intention of luring both an NBA and an NHL team. San Francisco hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen is spearheading the project. With that kind of money in play, you have to think something substantial is in the works.

Although Hansen has been opaque about the details of what NHL team he would be attempting to bring to Seattle, it is a tempting proposition for thousands of hockey fans in the Pacific Northwest to mull over. An environmental impact study is still pending before the project could move forward.

Hey fellow KK'ers. Our fantasy hockey league has been going 9 years strong, through the last lockout and will continue to go. We're looking for one extra guy to join by Thursday so if anyone wants in, we're drafting Sunday and will continue in good faith that the season will eventually come around. If it doesn't, you'll at least get into a historic league that will have many more good years to come.

It's a head-to-head league on Yahoo, 3 keepers per year (you'll be inheriting an exiting team's options, some goodies in there including one Anze Kopitar and some guy named Patrick Kane..)

Reply if interested..

After a five-month dizzying ordeal, forward Rick Nash has been traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the New York Rangers in exchange for forwards Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky, defenseman Tim Erixon and the Rangers’ first pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The Blue Jackets also send to the Rangers a conditional 3rd round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft as well as minor-league defenseman Steven Delisle.

The national pundits have viewed the trade as an abomination for the Blue Jackets yet the Blue Jackets organization, while local observers and fans have viewed the trade as a great move by Blue Jackets General Manager (GM) Scott Howson.

While I view the trade, on the surface, as neither great nor devastating in the overall sense, with consideration to all of the parameters and the length of time needed by Howson to make this trade, I feel the trade is simply a case where Howson, in baseball jargon, was entrusted by ownership to hit a home run and settled for, at best, a ground-rule double.

In my previous article on Rick Nash I outlined the variables and complications associated with the foregone conclusion in some league circles that Columbus Blue Jackets lone franchise player, Rick Nash, will be traded prior to or during the upcoming National Hockey League (NHL) Entry draft, scheduled for Friday, June 22nd.

The Columbus Dispatch’s stellar beat reporter Aaron Portzline disclosed “that as many as seven teams have had “significant” trade conversations with Blue Jackets General Manager (GM) Scott Howson about Nash during the past 10 days and that a handful of other clubs – three or four, maybe more – have ‘kicked the tires’ to see what a deal might cost them.”

Much like the limited potential list of suitors who Nash had provided to Howson – those for which Nash would consider waiving his No Movement Clause (NMC) – no one except Howson knows who has made the specific offers. However, it is known that specific teams were actively pursuing, and appear to continue to pursue, the possibility of a trade with the Blue Jackets for Nash.

Assuming that Blue Jackets General Manager (GM) Scott Howson can broker a deal to garner the necessary return associated with one of the NHL’s elite power forwards, I now offer my analysis of the potential trading partners – NHL organizations who covet Nash – and what type of proposal could entice Scott Howson.

It’s expected that the Columbus Blue Jackets will trade their only true All-Star player and face of the franchise Rick Nash on or before the upcoming NHL Entry Draft on June 22nd. Rumored trade discussions and speculated trading partners have been flying almost as quickly as trying to keep the hottest of DVDs on a Blockbuster store shelf.

And while some pundits and local observers believe this long-speculated trade of Nash is a forgone conclusion and will go down before the draft, I believe that doing so is a lot more complicated than that and I’ll explain why.

The NHL draft will begin on Friday and it is a chance for every team to have some hope about their future. This draft is very interesting because after Nail Yakupov (the consensus number one pick) there are a plethora of differing opinions among experts and scouts as to where players should be rated. This makes an exercise like a mock draft very difficult, but also a lot of fun.

I am not considering any potential trades in my mock draft as that is just too difficult to predict. Seeing as the number one pick is definitely in play I think we are going to see plenty of action at the Consol Energy Center on Friday night.

The Toronto Marlies had a great season and although they were swept in the Calder Cup final on the weekend, they had an excellent playoff run as well. What is most impressive with the Marlies playoff run is that they have done it with a minimal amount of AHL “veterans”. Other than Mike Zigomanis, the rest of the squad is made up of legitimate NHL prospects.

The Marlies great run is getting Leaf fans thinking about how their success might translate to the big club next year. There have been some recent cases where AHL success from the previous season appeared to help the NHL clubs with big improvements the following season. Most recently the Ottawa Senators jumped up 18 points in 2011-12 after their affiliate, Bighamton Senators, won the Calder Cup in 2010-11 and the Montreal Canadiens had a 14 point jump in 2006-07 after the Hamilton Bulldogs won the Calder Cup in 2005-06.

I decided to look back at 18 seasons from 1991-92 to see how NHL teams fared the year after their AHL affiliate played in the Calder Cup finals. I used difference in points from the previous season as my criteria for judging “improvement” at the NHL level.

I recently completed a series of articles analyzing the Maple Leafs organizational depth at each position. After completing that exercise I thought it would take some time to rank the top 25 prospects in the organization and give some projections. For each player I give their ceiling, a projection and for the top 15 prospects I also give a comparable player.

1. Jake Gardiner, D
a. Ceiling – top pair defenseman, Norris trophy candidate
b. Projection – top four defenseman, 40+ points
c. Comparable – Dan Boyle

2. Matt Frattin, F
a. Ceiling – 30+ goal scorer, All-Star forward
b. Projection – top six forward, 20-25 goals
c. Comparable – TJ Oshie

This is the final article in a series looking at the Toronto Maple Leafs organizational depth by position. Thus far I have completed my review of goalies, defensemen, centermen, and left wingers, which leaves us with right wingers to finish things up. As I stated in my previous articles, most forwards can play multiple positions and often do throughout a season. I will do my best to categorize players as centers, left wingers or right wingers. For example, I am including Nazem Kadri in the right winger evaluation. Although Kadri plays center with the AHL Toronto Marlies, he has almost exclusively been a right winger in his stints with the Maple Leafs, which suggests that he will be a winger at the NHL level.

Right Wingers on 2011-12 roster:

Phil Kessel
Clarke McArthur
Matt Frattin
Colby Armstrong

Second of a two-part preview of the 2012 Stanley Cup finals.

History: The New Jersey Devils boast three Stanley Cups (1995, 2000, 2003) and plenty of experience. Although goalie Martin Brodeur is the only player on the roster to win all three titles, Patrik Elias has captured the last two. According to Puck Daddy, the Devils are the best No. 6 seed in Eastern Conference history, and one of only three to crack the century mark (the others being these same Devils in 2004 and the Rangers in 2006, both of which had 100 even). Furthermore, while the team’s trapping system has changed, its building blocks of defense and goaltending have not.

First of a two-part preview of the 2012 Stanley Cup finals.

History: The L.A. Kings are in rarefied air for many reasons. It’s only the second Stanley Cup finals berth in franchise history. Second, they’re only the second No. 8 seed to ever reach the finals (the other was the 2005-06 Edmonton Oilers, who lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes). Thirdly, this is only the fourth time that a team from California has reached the finals; the other two berths were by the rival Anaheim Ducks, who won the Cup in 2007 and lost in the 2003 finals to the New Jersey Devils. The Kings are undefeated on the road this postseason (8-0), becoming the first team to go unbeaten away from home on the way to the finals. Finally, this is the lowest combination of seeds (the Devils are the No. 6 seed) in the Stanley Cup finals since the NHL switched to the current format for the 1994 postseason. (It’s hard to determine official conference seeding before then.)

This past week, Bob Mackenzie indicated on TSN Radio that the Maple Leafs would not be interested in goaltender Roberto Luongo. This seems to be a sentiment echoed throughout the media and I happen to agree with it. Don’t get me wrong, I think Luongo is a great goalie and will be good for the next five years at least, I just don’t think the Maple Leafs are interested in someone of his age with that type of contract.

About a month ago I posted an article suggesting that the Maple Leafs target two goalies in free agency: Josh Harding and Scott Clemmensen.

I still hold the same opinion as I did then; the Maple Leafs need to give James Reimer a chance to be the starting goalie they think he is, but if he falters they need a proven veteran backup that can carry the load. Harding and Clemmensen both fit the bill and they should be had with short term, low cost contracts. The Leafs must also consider how well Ben Scrivens has developed at the AHL level. And although they will not go into the season with only Reimer and Scrivens as the only two goalies on the roster, he just might be the starting goalie at some point next year.

On the one hand, the Phoenix Coyotes should be thrilled that they made it to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. On the other, they should be disappointed that they were dismissed in five games by a team that finished two points behind them in the Pacific Division during the regular season.

But the biggest regret for the Coyotes should be the fact that everything that worked during series victories against the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators failed against the L.A. Kings. (More on the royal juggernaut during previews for the Stanley Cup finals.) In 11 games against the Hawks and Preds, the Coyotes allowed 21 goals (1.9 goals per game); in five games against the Kings, they allowed 14 (2.8 goals per game). Consider the flip side to that equation: they only scored eight goals in five games against the Kings (1.6 goals per game) compared to 29 goals in the first 11 games of the playoffs (2.63 goals per game). So they scored 1.3 fewer goals per game and allowed 0.7 more goals per game. Not a recipe for success.

This is the fourth article in a series looking at the Toronto Maple Leafs organizational depth by position. Thus far I have completed my review of goalies, defensemen and center icemen in the organization and that leaves us with wingers to round things out. As I stated in my previous article, most forwards can play multiple positions and often do throughout a season, I will do my best to categorize players as centers, left wingers or right wingers. For example, I am including Nazem Kadri in the right winger evaluation. Although Kadri plays center with the AHL Toronto Marlies, he has almost been exclusively a right winger in his stints with the Maple Leafs which suggests that he will be a winger at the NHL level.

Left Wingers on 2011-12 roster:

Joffrey Lupul
Nikolai Kulemin
Mike Brown
Joey Crabb
Jay Rosehill

Last year at this time, the Washington Capitals were contemplating what went wrong after the Tampa Bay Lightning swept them right out of the conference semifinals. They vowed to get better, be more responsible, and play a better two-way system.

Here we are a year later, and the Caps lost (again) in the conference semifinals. They played better defense, but their offense was clearly weakened. Last year, they averaged 2.56 goals per game over nine playoff games, slightly better than the 2.07 goals per game they averaged in 14 games this postseason. Additionally, they gave up 2.67 goals per game in the playoffs last year, and that number dropped to 2.14 goals per game this time around. (This, of course, was a huge drop from the 3.14 goals per game they averaged during the 2010 playoffs, but then again, they lost in the first round that year.)

This is the third article in a series looking at the Toronto Maple Leafs organizational depth by position. Thus far I have completed my review of goalies and defensemen and next up will be a look at the organizational depth at the center ice position. Since most forwards can play multiple positions and often do throughout a season, I will do my best to categorize players as center, right wing or left wing. For example, I am not including Nazem Kadri in the center evaluation. Although Kadri plays center with the AHL Toronto Marlies, he has almost been exclusively a winger in his stints with the Maple Leafs which suggests that he will be a winger at the NHL level.

Center’s on 2011-12 roster:

Tyler Bozak
Mikhail Grabovski
Tim Connolly
Matthew Lombardi
David Steckel

What an up-and-down season for the Washington Capitals. After changing coaches, not making moves at the trading deadline, pretty much (unofficially) putting a freeze on contract extensions and barely making the playoffs, the Caps eliminated the defending champion Boston Bruins in the first round before bowing out to the New York Rangers in last night’s game seven of the conference semifinals.

After undergoing an identity transplant this season, the team managed to right the ship for the playoffs. — sorta. Their biggest find was Braden Holtby, who entered the playoffs with no postseason experience and only 21 regular-season games played, but ended with a 1.95 goals against average (sixth-best in the league), a .935 save percentage (also sixth) and all seven of the Caps’ wins, not to mention constant lauding by myriad members of the national media.