KK Members Blog

Hello friends,

So we’ve had a fantasy hockey league ever since 2002, it’s a heads-up keeper league (3 keepers a year) that tracks 11 stats (4 goalie stats, 6 forward stats). If you’re a Kuklas Korner regular and are interested in getting involved, we’ve had a spot open up. Let me know if anyone’s interested.

-Dave

Anybody going to the game? I will be taking the train into STL from my home in KC. I have done this the last few years and had a great time. The Blues fans are pretty good. I always wear my Gordie Howe jersey and when they see it has the number 9 on the back, they always say something nice about him.

These are exciting times to be a hockey fan in Winnipeg, heat wave be damned – from the announcement of True North’s purchase of the Atlanta Thrashers to the draft party at the MTS Centre and the naming of the team, there has been no shortage of exciting developments in regards to Winnipeg’s return to the NHL.

I went to my fair share of Jets games in my time, and like almost every aging hockey fan in town was a huge fan of the team. I was upset when the original Jets were relocated to Phoenix back in 1996, but couldn’t deny the reasons the team left – no local owner, no new arena, etc.

Fast forward fifteen years and the Jets are back – sort of. There’s a new arena and owner (thank goodness), and the team, once again, is called the Jets (to the absolute delight of most). But until the team skates out on to home ice, I think I’ll continue having a hard time calling them “my” team.

Last season was interesting for Sens fans. There were the lows from the injuries, constant reports the coach and players wanted to kill each other, and another season wondering how many games Pascal Leclaire would miss after getting hit by the Higgs Boson particle (Google it, it’s a tiny particle and it is essentially harmless).

I went into this offseason with some sense of optimism sprinkled with a sense of hope that this season was going to be better then everyone was predicting.

Ever since I was a boy, I’ve always enjoyed a good story. Storytelling is a fine art, and it’s hard not to admire someone who has the ability to describe past events in a compelling fashion.

With that said, even the best storytellers have a tendency to embellish the facts. Sports journalists and commentators are no exception

As I look back on the Stanley Cup final, there’s no question the better team won. Boston outclassed, out-skated, and more importantly, outscored Vancouver when it mattered most. As they often do, media pundits tried to identify the moment when the series turned in Boston’s favor. Predictably, the Aaron Rome hit on Nathan Horton early in Game 3 was deemed the turning point.

What’s funny about media narratives is that the story is always told after the fact. In other words, writers and talking heads make up phony reasons to explain why something happened. Unfortunately, they can’t definitively predict what’s going to happen in advance, so they have to wait for something to play out before explaining it. The narrative that is told depends upon the result.

Flyers forward Jeff Carter is out for Friday night’s Game 5 against the Buffalo Sabres after colliding with Buffalo Sabres Tyler Myers.

MyFoxPhilly.com says Jeff Carter could have MCL tear.

The University of Pennsylvania\‘s Dr. Mike Cirigliano joined \“Good Day\” Friday morning to talk about the injury and what it means for the rest of the playoffs.

Reports are that Carter may have a medial-collateral ligament injury, perhaps even a tear.

Read more over at MyFoxPhilly.com

Michigan State University has named CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos as Rick Comley’s replacement at the position of head hockey coach. Comley is retiring after the current season.

Anastos has been serving as the commissioner of the CCHA since 1998 and has been named one of “hockey’s 100 most powerful people” by The Hockey News for the past 5 years. Anastos played hockey at MSU from 1981-85. IN addition to his role as CCHA commish, he was also president of the HCA (Hockey Commissioners\’ Association).

This news comes on the heels of the Big Ten announcing the probable formation of their own hockey conference, which would strip the CCHA of 3 of its premiere schools, including MSU.

Aside from the above facts, Anastos will be looking to return MSU to national prominence following a rough couple of years in East Lansing. MSU has had a tough time recruiting as of late, and has had to deal with rival Michigan\‘s ability to recruit US NTDPers that already reside in Ann Arbor as part of that program.

As for the CCHA… it\‘s the second big blow in only a few days. They appear to be losing Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State in a few years, and now also have lost the man widely considered one of the best and most-innovative heads in all of hockey.

What do you think, college hockey fans? Personally this blindsided me. As an MSU fan I’m happy to see this hire. As a longtime CCHA fan though, this move makes me fear for their long-term well-being now.

After years of speculation, and the recent announcement of Penn State adding Division 1 hockey for both men and women, it seems the inevitable is now all but official:

The Big Ten Conference seems to be planning the first major collegiate conference to add D1 hockey.

The Big Ten’s own official release on it can be found here.

The Big Ten would boast powers from two of the premier D1 men\‘s hockey conferences—Wisconsin and Minnesota from the WCHA, and Michigan, Michigan St., and Ohio St. from the CCHA. Penn St., who has not committed to a conference yet, would be the sixth team.

While the WCHA has not responded yet, the CCHA has an official response in which they state that the announcement is not a surprise and that they have been talking to the Big Ten for some time.

I have seen several games this that Stephen Walkom has refereed. I have been less than impressed with the on ice calls of the former Director of Officials..

First, I’ll admit that I believe being an NHL referee is the most difficult refereeing/umpiring job in sports.

Second, I proudly admit that I am a biased Red Wings fan.

While I am not wining about the Red Wings loss to the Preds on Saturday night 3-1. However, the standard of officiating in that game was amongst the worst I’ve seen. I am not only complaining about the wrong call taking away a Wings goal because the goaltender interference. However, ironically just after the GM meetings about player safety and addressing concussions, the pair refereeing the game obviously did not get the memo. Elbows directly targeting the head were ignored, , repeated punches to the head from behind allowed and charging/ boarding were let go.

I’m not sure every game is reviewed for the quality of officiating, but Terry Gregson, you need to ok at this one. Maybe Walkom is better suited to reviewing calls from the press box.

In honor of Black History Month, and in support of the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative, we present the All-Black Hockey Team over at Gunaxin Sports. The full roster is constructed entirely of active players, and is more balanced and talented then you might expect.

A quick look at ESG after 59-60 games.

After seeing many playoff series do a 180 once the officials put their whistles in their pockets,
I always pay attention to ESG stats.

Here’s a prediction for all you frustrated with the re-entry waiver process for players who were free agents returning from a non-NHL professional team. Watch for Chris Oswood to retire at season’s end and for the Wings to sign Nabokov once free agency begins on July 1. He will be a great experienced back-up for Jimmy Howard. Ken Holland and Jill Nill knew he would be taken in the waiver process. This was all about building good will toward next year.

On Friday night during the Wings/Flames game, Brad Stuart sustained a broken jaw that will require surgery. He will be out indefinitely. The injury resulted from a blindsided, vicious hit to the head with a deliberate intent to injure by Tom Kostopoulos. Unbelievably, Kostopoulos only received a two minute minor for roughing. Stuart left the game hunched over and bleeding. How did four on ice officials miss the severity of this deliberate intent to injure?

Well, now it’s up to Colin Campbell. If we want to get blindsided hits to the head out of the game, here is your clear textbook opportunity to do so. This action deserves a ten game suspension. Maybe that will wake up the players to knock it it off. Someday, I hope that the discipline becomes that you are out as long as the injured player is out. That will hit them hard on games lost and in the pocketbook.

Paul recently posted about a speculative trade of Versteeg for Filppula. Although interesting, I think Filppula offers far more to the organization over time. Versteeg could boost the Red Wings’ offense and offer some scrappy, physical play on the wing, but I think Versteeg’s potential is at best a second-line winger on a poor offensive team.

Filppula, on the other hand, is a center that is being given a growing role as the team’s number two centerman. He is slowly filling into that role, being given a regular opportunity on the power play and playing on the second line. He began last season on the third line with Leino and Jason Williams, an unproven NHL rookie and a gamble forced on Holland by Hudler’s departure. When he returned from his hand injury, he was soon given an opportunity to play on the first and second line wing and now started the season as our second line center, alongside proven NHL veterans Franzen and Bertuzzi. Babcock’s belief in Filppula is reflected not only in the line combinations but his post-game comments. Everyone knows Filppula is always being encourage to shoot the puck more often, and we’ve heard that he is like a mini-Datsyuk. To be compared to one of the star forwards is no small compliment.

Hello fellow hockey fiends.

I know there are a few of you out there who hail from the Portland, Oregon area presently. I also know you’re probably into watching a Winterhawks game or two.

It turns out there are now about 15-20 of us getting seats together at club-level to watch the Winterhawks play Seattle, a match-up which tends to get frisky. After which we’re ringing in the new year with skating in the rink with the players afterwards. The concourse is going to have a rock-climbing wall, skeeball and shooting of some kind. Apparently since we’re doing this in a group, we even get three messages of our choosing on the jumbotron. I’m still trying to figure out the most inappropriate thing you can say in front of a few thousand families without getting arrested.

If you’re interested in joining up with our posse, email me at hippydave at gmail dot com and I’ll clue you in.

Happy new year!
-Dave

Chris Osgood won his 400th game tonight with a 4-3 overtime win versus the Colorado Avalanche in Colorado. Osgood was the #1 star of the game turning away 46 of 49 Avalanche shots. Osgood was stellar during the second period.

Tonight, Osgood became only the 10th goalie to ever win 400 games.

Ozzie has won three Stanley Cups, of which in two of them (1998 and 2008), he was the starting goalie.

Of the other nine to win 400 games, seven are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Only two, Curtis Joseph and Marty Broudure (still active) are not in the HHOF.

Is hockey’s Rodney Dangerfield (I get no respect! ) Hall worthy? Is 400 wins equal to 500 or 600 goals? Should three cups and 400 wins make him automatic entry to the HHOF?

Roberto Luongo has for a long time has been discussed as one of the premier goalies of the game. He has a gold metal to his name backstopping Team Canada in the Olympics earlier this year. He also is the #1 goalie for one of the best teams in the NHL, the Vancouver Canacks. On the flip side of the coin, he has not been able to lead his team over the Blackhawks the last two years in the Stanley Cup playoffs and his play can be inconsistent.

Last night in Detroit, the Canucks lost 5-4 to the Red Wings in overtime. Two of the Wings goals, including the game winner in overtime, were shots that any NHL goalie should make. The first ugly goal was a backhand shot from Zetterberg from the side of the net from an impossible angle that went in past Luongo. The second bad goal was a Zetterberg slap shot from the top of the circle with no screen in front. Rubbing salt in the wounds was the fact just moments before, Jimmy Howard made a game saving save in overtime stopping Sedine from the top of the slot.

I recognize anyone can have a bad game. However, I have long thought that Luongo was overrated. Do you think the Canucks are happy they have a big, long term contract with him?

Do you think he is overrated or do you think I’m full of fxxxxxx xxxx as the Washington Capitals coach might say?

On Friday night, an original six match-up occurred between the Habs and Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in Hockeytown.

This battled featured a battle of two of the best young goalies in the game, Cary Price and Jimmy Howard.

The Red Wings won the game 4-2. The Canadians were down 3-1 after two periods, yet put on a strong push in the third period and outshot the Wings 20-3 and cut the lead to 3-2 late in the third. An empty net goal by Patrick Eaves sealed the win for the Wings 4-2.

Jimmy Howard was the first star of the game and stood on his head, especially in the third period.

The Canadians played shorthanded most of the first period. They were leading 1-0 and nearly fought off a 5-3PK until Nick Lidstrom scored with a little more than a second left in the first period.

Nick Kronwall and Paval Datsyuk scored for the Wings in the second period. Datsyuk’s goal was another highlight reel goal as he broke in on Cary Price and put a backhand shot past Cary Price on the short side.

The Wings literally held on in the third period as the Canadian dominated the play. Jimmy Howard stole this game for the Wings.

I think everyone would agree on eliminating head shots from the game is a good idea. We need to protect our players from hits to the head that can result in concussions or even more serious injury that can affect player’s careers or even the ability to lead a normal life. These headshots are now in the process of being eliminated at all levels of our game.
While this is good news, I watch the game and still worry that we are not doing enough to protect defensemen.

Two areas are concerning: touch icing and goalies being unable to play the puck outside of the trapezoid that put defensemen at risk.

This paragraph from Scott Burnside in Paul’s recent post made me sick to my pants:

With the Wings hard against the salary cap, it’s going to present a dilemma for GM Ken Holland moving forward. That’s to say nothing of the fact that Howard can become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Stay tuned.

I admit to having been completely clueless about Jimmy Howard’s UFA status after this season. I probably knew about it at one point, but it has long since been pushed down deep into my reservoir of repressed knowledge, personal failures, and shameful acts. Until I make contact with my spirit animal and recover some memories with the help of a guru or whisperer of some sort, I’m not ready to even entertain the possibilities.

So I pose the question to you all:

Let’s say Jimmy Howard wins 40 games this year, puts up a roughly 2.3 GAA and .920 SV% and leads the Wings to the Cup Final…

What kind of contract do you give him?

The State of Michigan and Ohio are at war this weekend!

This weekend features a home and home battle for the Central Division lead in the Western Conference between the Red Wings and Blue Jackets and a classic Big Ten football match-up between the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University. Round one goes to the State of Michigan and Hockeytown, as the Red Wings prevailed Friday night 2-1.

The Blue Jackets introduced their new classy looking third jersey before a capacity crowd at Nationwide Area. The game featured great goal tending from Steve Mason and Jimmy Howard. The game was very up tempo and entertaining. Both teams had great scoring opportunities, but both net minders were up to the task. The Blue Jackets were awarded a penalty shot by Boll after being hooked from behind on a breakaway. Jimmy Howard stood tall and blocked Boll penalty shot.

The game ultimately was decided on special teams. The Wings penalty kill fought off five Columbus power plays, while the Red Wings scored on a power play goal by Fiippula, that became the game winner. The first Red Wings first goal was scored by Franzen and Vermette scored the lone Columbus goal.

It’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. I’ve generated a list of my top ten dates in Red Wings history over the past twenty years to be thankful for. The first four are fairly obvious.

June 7, 1997 – The Red Wings Win Their First Stanley Cup in 42 years. A day many Red Wings fans thought would never come. The Red Wings beat the Flyers with a 2-1 win in Detroit and sweep the series 4-0. Darren McCarty scores the game-winning goal with a sweet move, undressing Flyers defenseman Janne Niinimaa. Captain Steve Yzerman raises the Stanley Cup to an adoring Joe Louis crowd. This stopped the talk that Yzerman was not a good leader and captain. Mike Vernon was awarded the Conn Symthe trophy as the playoff MVP.

June 16, 1998 – For the second year in a row, the Red Wings are the Stanley Cup Champs. In game four, the Red Wings won 4-1 and swept the Washington Capitals in Washington. Steve Yzerman won the Conn Symthe trophy. A memory in etched forever in hockey fans memory, as Yzerman hands the Stanley Cup to Vladimir Konstantinov, who is on the ice in a wheelchair. Konstantinov was suffering from serious injuries from a limousine accident the previous summer. The accident ended his playing career.

How many times have we heard fans of pro sports teams say, “Once we have a winning team, we will really start showing up at the games.”

Well Columbus, don’t look now, but your team has had one hell of a start. In the tenth anniversary of the Blue Jackets in Columbus, the team is off to their best start.

Monday nights 2-0 home shutout win versus the tough Nashville Predators was the second straight shutout win in a row. Attendance at Nationwide Arena was only 10,095, out of a reported capacity for hockey of 18,500.

Following up on my KK Members Blog of November 20 on Coach Burns passing and the shameful actions of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

To the eighteen voting members of the HHOF, please ignore your tendency to now postpone Pat Burns being voted in the Hall for a few years for his accomplishments. After being called out by virtually the entire hockey world, I know that some of the people who vote for the the Hall inclusion are probably now thinking that we can’t possibly put Pat Burns in the Hall of Fame for the next two years, because if we do that, it will admit we made a mistake.

My advice to the HHOF and special call out to Scotty Bowman who sits on the committee is: man up, admit you made a mistake and correct it with the next vote. Better yet, organize a teleconference, take a special vote and announce his election to the Hall of Fame before next Monday when he is laid to rest. And while you are at it, vote Fred Shero in at the same time.

People will have more respect for the Hall if you correct your mistake.

You have a second chance to get it right. Don’t blow it again.

Always, been curious about B2B games and how often playing the day before creates shutout opportunities.

I began highlighting (**) the losing teams that played the previous day. Half way through I noticed it was kind of interesting that some of the shutouts were bv teams that had played the day before, so I backtracked and recorded all of those (##).

I only listed the teams that have recorded shutouts.

The shutouts-against, for the teams that have not recorded a shutout, is left for another day.