Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Gordie Howe Would Have Turned 93 Today

03/31/2021 at 11:10am EDT

Enjoy a few videos on my idol, Gordie Howe.

ESPN Documentary

Some Of The Trade Talk

03/31/2021 at 10:57am EDT

The National Hockey League's Trade Deadline is on Monday, April 12 and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy or sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out the latest trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Waiver Claim Coming?

With the Florida Panthers losing defenceman Aaron Ekblad for the season, the Florida Panthers are weighing their options to improve the blueline, one of which could be to claim Shayne Gostisbehere off waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers....

Marleau on the Move?

Now second on the NHL's all-time games played list, Patrick Marleau said last week he wouldn't close the door on a move to a contender as he chases Gordie Howe's record of 1,767 games.

Kevin Kurz of The Athletic listed five teams who could be interested in Marleau, who is signed for the league minimum of $700,000, ahead of the trade deadline....

Adding in Net?

The Philadelphia Flyers have given Carter Hart two games off this week in hopes the 22-year-old can find his game, but TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports the team is also weighing their options of adding another goaltender before the trade deadline.

Hart has an 8-9-3 record this season with a .869 save percentage and a 4.04 goals-against average. He has not posted a save percentage above .890 since shutting out the Buffalo Sabres on Feb 28.

"Yeah, it has been a real struggle for Carter Hart. It is my understanding that the Flyers’ front office is having that discussion internally," LeBrun said on Insider Trading. "Do they go out and get goaltending help before the April 12 trade deadline and allow Carter Hart to have a bit of a reset and work on his game?...

more at TSN on each of the above plus more trade talk...

NHL Short Notes

03/31/2021 at 3:38am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS

* Adam Fox became the first Rangers defenseman in more than 25 years to record 20 or more points in a calendar month, boosting his total to 30 on the season.

* The two highest-scoring rookies in March – Jason Robertson of the Stars and Eeli Tolvanen of the Predators – each found the score sheet in Nashville on Tuesday.

* Scoring and standings races intensified over the course of the busiest month of the season to date, with March set to close with doubleheaders Wednesday in both the U.S. and Canada.

All About ESPN And The NHL

03/30/2021 at 5:06pm EDT

from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports,

Mark Gross, ESPN’s senior vice president of production and remote events, will lead all aspects of NHL coverage. He gave Front Office Sports a preview of ESPN’s strategy:

  • ESPN may hire an uber news-breaker for the NHL similar to Adam Schefter (NFL), Adrian Wojnarowski (NBA), or Jeff Passan (MLB).
  • Look for talent mainstays like Steve Levy, Linda Cohn, John Buccigross, and Barry Melrose to play key roles in the coverage.
  • Yes, the popular ’90s-era NHL theme music will be back (but a redux of Fox’s “glowing puck” is not in the cards).
  • A new NHL studio show on ESPN’s linear TV channels and an expansion of Cohn’s “In the Crease” on ESPN+.
  • Will ESPN’s on-air talent talk about gambling? Don’t bet against it, Gross says.

A Q & A with Mark Gross by Michael McCarthy can be read here and here is a snipet...

FOS: Tell us your coverage approach. How many teams of announcers will you use to call games?

Gross: We’re actually in the process of figuring it out. Right now, we have a list going, because we’ve heard from so many people that it’s overwhelming. We have a list of play-by-play announcers who are interested, analysts, hosts, reporters and production people. We’re just in the process of playing around with it.

Obviously, we know the number of games. We’re still trying to confirm the days of the week of the games. We’re not quite there as far as announce teams. Needless to say there will be at least two to three [announce teams] going during the course of the regular season. That will likely increase during the playoffs.

Video- When Scotty Bowman Talks You Should Listen

03/30/2021 at 3:45pm EDT

The Buffalo Sabres Were Rolling Last Night But...

03/30/2021 at 10:07am EDT

from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

The first thing that popped in my head late Monday night was that old clip of John McEnroe from an early 1980s tirade at Wimbledon.

Remember the one where the ball was clearly on the line and chalk flew up? What four words that live in tennis lore did McNasty rail at the umpire after his serve was called out?

You cannot be serious.

That's how you have to feel after the Buffalo Sabres' utter collapse in KeyBank Center. Their hideous winless streak was over, cemented away in the history books at 17 games and no more.

And then it wasn't over. And now it's 18 games.

A 3-0 lead after two periods went poof in the night. The Philadelphia Flyers roared back with three goals in the third period and got the winner in overtime. A shocking 4-3 loss. An 0-15-3 record, equaling the NHL's longest winless streak of the last 27 years.

continued

Game highlights are below.

NHL Short Notes

03/30/2021 at 9:17am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS

* On Oct. 1, 1997, Patrick Marleau skated in his first NHL game and last night he skated in his 1,757th – only one other player in NHL history has hit that mark, Gordie Howe (1,767 GP).

* Cale Makar and Philipp Grubauer combined to help the Avalanche extend their point streak to 11 contests, one shy of the longest run by any team this season.

* Darnell Nurse became the NHL’s leading goal scorer among defensemen after his 12th tally of the season won the game for Edmonton in overtime.

The Vancouver Canucks May Be Limited At The Trade Deadline

03/29/2021 at 8:13pm EDT

from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province,

The simple summation for suitors interested in unrestricted free agents Tanner Pearson, Brandon Sutter, Alex Edler and Jordie Benn is that they must balance the salary-cap equation. Money coming in, even as rentals, can be justified if similar money is going out — unless owner Francesco Aquilini retains cash on expiring contracts.

That’s probably a moot point because the Canucks currently have no current or projected cap space. Add no-movement and modified no-movement clauses — plus current injury situations and family preferences — and trading UFAs for draft picks gets more complicated.

It’s not surprising that Travis Hamonic, 30, won’t waive his NMC, even though there’s interest from the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets. The right-shot defenceman has always preferred to play in Western Canada for professional and family purposes. It could be the same scenario with Edler and his NMC.

As for Pearson and Sutter, their value as experienced depth forwards is tempered by salaries and ailments.

continued

Aaron Ekblad Out Three Months After Surgery Today

03/29/2021 at 7:34pm EDT

SUNRISE, Fla. - Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito announced today that Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad underwent successful surgery to repair a fracture in his lower extremities and is expected to be out of the lineup for 12 weeks.

Ekblad, 25, sustained his injury during the second period of Florida's March 28 game against the Dallas Stars.

"To be without a player of Aaron's caliber and character is an irreplaceable loss to our hockey club," said Zito. "Aaron is an incredibly driven and talented young player and a tremendous leader for our team. He has the heartfelt support of our organization, his teammates and fans as we wish him the best in his recovery and his eventual return. Despite Aaron's absence from our lineup, we are confident in our group's resiliency and motivation as we move forward."

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound native of Windsor, Ont. has registered 22 points (11-11-22) over 35 games this season with the Panthers and ranked tied for first among all NHL defensemen in goals. The two-time NHL All-Star (2015, 2016) and 2014-15 Calder Memorial Trophy winner was originally selected by Florida first overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Monday Hockey Thoughts

03/29/2021 at 1:17pm EDT

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- I will admit this even if it makes me look unprofessional, but I’m rooting for a Buffalo victory. No one deserves this level of on-ice misery in such a mentally challenging isolation season.

With two weeks until the trade deadline, no GM is using more data than Kevyn Adams. The Sabres are out of the race and not pretending otherwise. I thought he did well to get two picks for Eric Staal, and Adams tried for a second-rounder before committing to Montreal. The advantage for him right now is some other teams (Arizona, Columbus, Nashville among them) are holding because they’re suddenly in the race.

Adams was believed to be discussing something with struggling St. Louis. I wondered if it would be Taylor Hall, but received pushback on that idea, so we’ll see where it goes. There are a ton of teams calling to see what he’s willing to do, and what it will take.

- I’m another one who believes Luke Glendening is very much on Edmonton’s radar. (Tippett is not the source for this.) Makes too much sense, but the challenge for the Oilers is getting outbid by a higher pick than they want to exchange.

I heard that his Detroit teammates jokingly compared Glendening — when in the face-off circle — to a dog eying a ball. His eyes never leave the puck in a linesman’s hand. He’s completely focused on it and ignores all else. Guess that’s why he’s at 64 per cent.

- According to multiple sources, Peel, devastated by what happened, threw himself on the grenade and took full responsibility, apologizing to the Predators post-game. Apparently, he’d seen a replay of his call on the video screen, realized it was a miss, and was annoyed at himself.

Most of the current and retired officials who were willing to discuss the incident said they understood the decision. They didn’t like it, and felt terribly for Peel, but they understood. A couple of them brought up disgraced ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who was caught betting on games in 2007. (Let’s just state for the record, I don’t believe Peel was doing anything remotely similar or unethical.)

“When that happened,” one said, “the NHL immediately reached out to us. They asked us if there was anything they needed to know.”

more on Tim Peel and other notes of interest...

Stars Of The Week

03/29/2021 at 1:07pm EDT

NEW YORK (March 29, 2021) – New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox and Northwell Health – Long Island Jewish Medical Center RN Deena Trupkin have been named the NHL’s “First Stars” for the week ending March 28.

Throughout the 2020-21 season the NHL is celebrating the remarkable efforts of the off-ice stars who make it possible for us to play our games amid a pandemic by honoring frontline healthcare heroes from the regions represented by the League’s weekly and monthly “Stars.”

Trupkin, a Rangers fan since birth, is a registered nurse in maternal fetal medicine at Northwell Health – Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. At the height of the pandemic, she was reassigned to work in labor and delivery. Her role became even more essential to many laboring women who could not have the in-person support of their partner or family due to the unknown threat of COVID-19 on newborns.

Trupkin’s fandom of the Rangers spans generations. Her grandfather had season tickets for more than 60 years and her daughter’s middle name is Madison, after Madison Square Garden. Trupkin is very proud to share this weekly honor with Fox, who hails from Long Island (Jericho, N.Y.).

Rounding out the “Three Stars” of the week are Carolina Hurricanes center Martin Necas and Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros. More on each NHL player’s performance can be found below:

NHL Short Notes

03/29/2021 at 6:32am EDT

THREE HARD LAPS

* Alex Ovechkin continued his goal-per-game pace since March 11 as the nine-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner moved within four of Auston Matthews for the League lead in tallies this season.

* Just days after The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers began streaming on Disney+, Anaheim rallied for a multi-goal comeback victory (which are commonplace in the film franchise) and Florida forward Anthony Duclair scored the winner on a penalty shot by beating Jake Oettinger via a move reminiscent of the “triple-deke”.

* Patrick Marleau is set to move past Mark Messier on the NHL’s all-time games played list when the Sharks welcome the Wild to SAP Center.

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 [email protected]

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