Kukla's Korner Hockey

Bettman is almost 70 and has been on the job since the winter of 1992. Many of his key people have been with him for at least 20 years. The overall leadership looks tired and out of fresh answers. Once-profitable international hockey has vanished. Bettman couldn’t arm twist the NHLPA into starting the season on Jan. 1 and had to wait another 12 days until the union gave the okay. J.T. Miller of the Canucks stared down the league over COVID-related scheduling and the league backed down....

The 2020-21 season has been a massive headache for the NHL, and some of the pain has been self-inflicted. At some point, the league’s board of governors is going to start wondering if new blood at the top is needed.

-Damien Cox at the Toronto Star where you can read more on this topic.

from Michael Traikos,

When the inventor of a new type of hockey skate claims that it can make Connor McDavid even faster than he already is, the first instinct is to roll your eyes and add it to the pile of failed gimmicks collecting dust in the back of your local pro shop.

But Per Mars is not just another snake-oil salesman. And Marsblade is not just another version of the Reebok Pump.

Since 2011, the former NHLer-turned-inventor has been disrupting the in-line hockey market with his unique roller skates, which employ a “flow motion technology” that mimics an on-ice stride. In the past year, more than 300 NHLers have been using Marsblades as an off-ice training tool. That includes McDavid, Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Evgeni Malkin, Roman Josi and Auston Matthews, with the latter becoming an investor in the company.

This week, Shane Wright, who is projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft, was named an official Marsblade ambassador.

If it’s a gimmick, then it’s a gimmick that is fooling a lot of high-end hockey players.

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THREE HARD LAPS

* The idle and NHL-leading Hurricanes became the first team to capture a division crown this season, securing the No. 1 seed in the Discover Central.

* All four playoff spots in the Honda West are now accounted for after the Blues locked up the No. 4 seed with one point and an Avalanche regulation win over the Kings.

* The Stars earned a crucial win over the Lightning to keep their playoff hopes alive. Dallas trails Nashville by two points in the Discover Central and both teams have two games remaining.

First time the two Florida teams will meet in the playoffs.

from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post,

ESPN is out on Wayne Gretzky, paving the way for The Great One potentially going to TNT as an analyst for its NHL studio coverage, The Post has learned.

Gretzky’s role with Turner would be akin to Charles Barkley’s on Inside The NBA. If a deal is done, Gretzky, 60, is expected to command in the $5 million per year range, according to sources.

Even in a time when ESPN/ABC is trying to make many of its broadcasters’ contracts more reasonable, it was willing to go to the $2 million range for Gretzky, sources said. The bidding, though, has now gotten too high and ESPN has decided to bow out.

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via the YouTube page of The Bob McCown podcast,

Two Canadian broadcasting legends, CHRIS CUTHBERT and JIM HUGHSON join the podcast for a rare "Play-By-Play" edition of our friday roundtable talk.

Watch th 46 1/2 minute show below.

And speaking of three-on-three overtime, is anyone else enjoying it less this year? Or is it just me? Back before the coaches turned it into a tactical exercise, of constant regrouping — when it was a straight-out-exercise in trading chances — it was the best five minutes of any game. Now, it’s been dulled down to the point, where it’s marginally more interesting than the regulation 60 minutes, but nothing at all like the whirlwind it used to be.

-Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic where you can read ($$$) numerous topics including now what Rangers?

Watch the incident below.

added 5:36pm, One game suspension for kneeing, watch the explanation below.

13 minutes of your time.

from the CP at TSN,

Canada is golden at the under-18 men's hockey championship after another strong performance from two of the youngest players at the tournament.

Led by 17-year-old captain Shane Wright and 15-year-old Connor Bedard, the Canadians beat Russia 5-3 on Thursday in the championship game, going undefeated along the way.

Wright had two goals and an assist while Bedard added a goal and a helper.

Brennan Othmann scored a highlight-reel between-the-legs goal for Canada, which got another from Logan Stankoven.

Benjamin Gaudreau made 31 saves and was named top goaltender at the 10-nation event.

Wright and Bedard — two of only seven players in Canadian Hockey League history to be granted exceptional player status to join major junior a year early — finished 2-3 in tournament scoring behind Russia's Matvei Michkov.

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Below, watch the goals from Connor Bedard during the tournament, note the video may be taken down due to IIHF restrictions.

Bedard is 15 years old, eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft and is 5' 9", 185 lbs.

from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times,

“It’s the right decision because ESPN is the biggest sports platform in the United States, probably the world,” Zadorov said. “It’s definitely a step forward for us to sell the game. We’re going to bring more people, more population to watch [us]. And it’s a big step up with the money as well for us, which is going to help us in the future with the next [collective-bargaining agreement].”

The money is undoubtedly the biggest positive from a league-business standpoint. The NHL will net $645 million annually from ESPN and Turner, plus another roughly $400 million annually from its ongoing Rogers/Sportsnet contract in Canada. It previously received less than $300 million annually from its contracts with NBC and Disney (for online streaming).

The increased TV revenue will balance the books after a devastating financial year and help the salary cap rise again — although that isn’t expected for another year or two.

“It’ll be good to get some freshness after the year we all had with COVID and everything,” Hawks forward Brett Connolly said. “It’ll be different, but hopefully it’s an advantage, which I think it will be.”

more

via the NHL's YouTube page,

A celebration of the weird moments across the NHL including a stubborn stick, mysterious goalie blunders, Brady Tkachuk's 'Frank the Tank' celly and more!

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

This wasn’t about the state of the rebuild. This was about the state of the Rangers union. And Jim Dolan, the Executive Chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., was not comfortable with it. So he acted. Decisively.

“I saw a weakness in the team that was not being addressed and I knew it needed to be,” Dolan told The Post during a telephone interview on Thursday in explaining why he dismissed president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton. “I knew that we were missing a key component to us being a Stanley Cup contender.

“And that is the overall spirit and culture that goes with being a team. I believe that as good of a job as JD and Jeff have done, in speaking with them, it is clear to me that Chris Drury was going to be the right guy to lead the team forward.”

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from Neil Best of Newsday,

from Michael Traikos,

Now that the blood has dried and we’re done shaking our collective fists at Tom Wilson, George Parros and the old-school culture of settling scores, can we please go back to marvelling at what Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews have done so far this season?

Can we talk about the emergence of Adam Fox as a Norris Trophy contender and the endurance of Sidney Crosby as one of the game’s best players? Can we go back to debating whether Russian veteran Kirill Kaprizov should be considered a rookie and whether Patrick Marleau should have broken Gordie Howe’s games-played record? Can we laugh about how badly run the Sabres are and how no one is safe from John Tortorella?

Can we return to our regular scheduled programming and highlight the amazing years that Joel Quenneville, Aleksander Barkov and Marc-Andre Fleury are having, as well as Buffalo goaltender Michael Houser’s unbelievable journey from being left for dead in the ECHL to winning a couple of games in the NHL?

Can we focus on the hug that Nicklas Backstrom gave T.J. Oshie following a 4-2 win on Wednesday, rather than the cross-check that Pavel Buchnevich gave to Anthony Mantha in a fight-filled game?

Can we try to remember that the NHL isn’t broken? That it’s not a gong show or a sideshow or a poop-emoji show. That it’s been entertaining and fun and exactly the kind of distraction we all needed in a difficult year of virus variants and slow-rolling vaccinations, and where the local lockdowns keep being extended to golf courses and pickleball courts.

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THREE HARD LAPS

* Auston Matthews reached 40 goals on the season, while Connor McDavid moved within four of the 100-point mark.

* Jeff Carter scored four times as the Penguins followed up a 7-3 win on Tuesday with an eight-goal outburst to move back into first place in the MassMutual East Division.

* Friday’s slate is highlighted by Wild rookie Kirill Kaprizov looking to inch closer to the 30-goal mark, the 2020 Stanley Cup Finalists concluding their season series as well as the Honda West Division-leading Golden Knights and fourth-place Blues opening a back-to-back set in Las Vegas.

How close are the Canucks and head coach Travis Green to signing a contract extension? Is there reason for optimism for NHL participation in the Olympics? TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun discuss this and more.

Watch at TSN

High-sticking.

from Sean Shapiro of The Athletic,

When it comes to luring big-name talent for its hockey coverage, ESPN is taking a shot at the biggest name in the sport’s history.

ESPN has approached and pitched Wayne Gretzky about a broadcasting role, according to multiple sources. Whether Gretzky, an alternate governor for the Edmonton Oilers, is interested is unknown, but at this point ESPN hasn’t been given a “no.”

It’s been believed that ESPN wanted to take some big swings when it came to adding hockey personalities whose names held Hall of Fame value from their playing careers. Bringing in hockey’s universally known all-time leading scorer would certainly fit that ambition.

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NEW YORK (May 6, 2021) – The National Hockey League announced today that the New York Rangers have been fined $250,000 for their public comments on Tuesday, May 4.

“Public comments of the nature issued by the Rangers that were personal in nature and demeaning of a League executive will not be tolerated,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “While we don’t expect our Clubs to agree with every decision rendered by the Department of Player Safety, the extent to which the Rangers expressed their disagreement was unacceptable. It is terribly unfair to question George Parros’ professionalism and dedication to his role and the Department of Player Safety.”

My pick is the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins in the mix.

How about you?

Full standings in case you need any assistance.

via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

The Blues honoured David Backes in what will probably be his last game in St. Louis, and after the game, Backes was emotional as he hugged his former teammates.

from Mark Whicker of the Daily News

For a long time the Ducks were able to withstand the downforces. Beginning in 2006, they qualified 11 times in 13 seasons. In 2017, they lost the Western Conference Finals to Nashville, a six-game collision that bruised every crucial body part, the heart included.

But as they limped home, they still had much to anticipate.

Ryan Getzlaf was a point-a-game dynamo in those playoffs. Richard Rakell, 23, scored 33 goals that season. Goalie John Gibson and defensemen Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler and Brandon Montour were all 25 or younger.

Four years later, in the merciful emptiness of Honda Center, the Ducks have produced the worst hockey in their 28-year history.

They have won three home games in regulation. Their current power-play percentage of 9.24 would be the worst in league history, wiping the ‘98 Lightning (9.38) off the books. In starker terms, Anaheim has scored 11 goals on its power plays and given up five.

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