Kukla's Korner Hockey

Not Just A Concussion

by Paul on 05/19/11 at 09:23 AM ET
Comments (16)

from Cathy Gulli of MACLEANS,

Before there was Sidney Crosby, there was Eric Lindros. Both were hockey prodigies as young teenagers. Both were drafted first overall into the NHL. Both won the league MVP in their early 20s, both were captain of Team Canada at the Olympics, and both were hailed as the next Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. And then, in a fraction of a second, both fell victim to devastating concussions. The toll on Crosby, who has been sidelined since January, remains to be seen. But most fans know that Lindros was never the same after a series of blows to the head—at least eight by the time he retired in 2007. What few know, however—what he’s never talked about publicly before—is the psychological and emotional toll of those concussions.

That a Herculean hockey legend such as Lindros (he is six foot four and 255 lb.) is speaking out with disarming candour about the panic and desolation that he has endured is unprecedented.

excerpt (continued)

Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Eric+Lindros,

Canadian Hockey Fans, Are You Jealous Of The Canucks?

by Paul on 05/19/11 at 03:41 AM ET
Comments (13)

from Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail,

There are lots of reasons why people living in Edmonton or Ottawa or Toronto might be reluctant to adopt the Canucks as their playoff team. They begin with spite and jealously.

The NHL teams in those cities are horrible. Their fans would love to have a squad that won the Presidents’ Trophy, has back-to-back Art Ross Trophy winners on it, and is the prohibitive favourite to win the Stanley Cup.

But they don’t. So it’s all about schadenfreude. They’d rather see the Tampa Bay Lightning win another Cup than Vancouver claim its first.

(That is not to say that many in Vancouver wouldn’t be feeling exactly the same way were it the Toronto Maple Leafs in the situation in which the Canucks currently find themselves. Vancouverites might be inclined to cut the rest of the NHL teams in Canada some slack.)

But the national antipathy towards the Canucks, at least to the degree it’s perceived to exist at the moment, could be derived from more than just pure team envy.

more

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Sharks Going Backwards

by Paul on 05/19/11 at 03:24 AM ET
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from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

And people will say it again: Same ol’ Sharks.

“Well, we have to do something to prove them wrong,” Sharks winger Ryane Clowe said after Wednesday’s 7-3 rout. “Or shut them up if they’re going to say that. But we haven’t. We lost last year and we’ve lost the first two this year. We have a lot of work ahead.”

Do they ever. The Sharks have lost five of six games and are regressing at the worst possible time of the year.

“You look at the last six to seven games we’ve played, we’re just not playing well,” said rookie center Logan Couture, who scored the first goal of the game Wednesday night. “We’re not playing the way we should be in the playoffs. Tonight was just embarrassing. Hopefully, it wakes us up a little bit.”

Just when the Sharks seem to have turned a corner—dominating the NHL in the second half of the regular season and beating Detroit two years in a row—they flash their old colors, with a performance such as Game 2. Having covered this team the entire playoffs, we can safely report this was the Sharks’ worst game of the spring. By a long shot.

more

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Video- Sharks Talk After The Game

by Paul on 05/19/11 at 03:15 AM ET
Comments (7)

Eager, Thornton and Clowe from the dressing room, post game.  Both Eager and Clowe called out Bieksa for his fight with Marleau.

The battle of words is heating up, now the Sharks need to harness that and play a much better game 3.

Filed in: NHL Teams, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Edmonton and the Oilers Agree to a 35-Year Arena Deal… Pending Someone Finding $100 Million

by Alanah McGinley on 05/19/11 at 01:07 AM ET
Comments (0)

From the Canadian Press at TSN:

Edmonton city council has approved an agreement framework with the Katz Group to build a new downtown arena.

The city says the deal will keep the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL in the city for 35 years.

The arena will cost $450 million, with the city providing $125 million, the Katz Group paying $100 million and $125 million coming from a user-paid facility fee.

The city notes in a news release that it is not a final or binding agreement and both parties must now work to secure the remaining $100 million required.

continued…

Update 2:20am ET: More on the deal from the Edmonton Sun.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

NHL Named Sports League Of The Year

by Paul on 05/18/11 at 09:46 PM ET
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NEW YORK (May 18, 2011) – The National Hockey League was honored tonight as the Sports League of the Year by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. The award was presented at a special ceremony held at the New York Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.
 
The NHL was recognized as part of the Sports Business Awards program, presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, the two leading publications on the business of sports. The Sports Business Awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in the sports industry for 2010.
 
“In 2010, more people than ever found more reasons than ever—and more ways than ever—to connect with our great game and our outstanding athletes,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “On behalf of the teams, the League staff and all who contributed to the achievement, the National Hockey League is pleased to accept this acknowledgement of a memorable year.”

The NHL was chosen from five nominees for Sports League of the Year including, in alphabetical order, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Barnaby Accused of Using Threats & Racial Slurs

by Alanah McGinley on 05/18/11 at 09:14 PM ET
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From Denise Jewell Gee at the Buffalo News:

Court documents accuse former Sabre Matthew T. Barnaby of “threatening harm” and using “racial slurs”  Friday night during 20 to 30 harassing phone calls to a friend of his estranged wife in a domestic dispute in Amherst.

The case was transferred to State Supreme Integrated Domestic Violence Court on Wednesday, but a complaint filed against the ESPN analyst in town court provided new details of the incident.

Barnaby, 38, has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including felony criminal mischief, stemming from the incident Friday night at the Getzville home of his estranged wife. Barnaby is also accused of violating a court order and damaging the garage door of the home.

New details made public Wednesday in the court documents included accusations that Barnaby harassed his wife by swearing at her and used “racial slurs” during a series of harassing phone calls to her male friend.

The complaint provided no details of what racial slurs Barnaby is accused of making. The documents state only that he is accused of harassing the man “via phone calls 20-30 times threatening harm, racial slurs and with no legitimate purpose to contact the victim.”

continued…

Barnaby is also accused of violating a February court order by entering his wife’s property, criminal trespass, harassment and aggravated harassment.

Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: espn, matthew+barnaby,

Cheevers On The Road To Recovery And Thinking About St. Mike’s

by Paul on 05/18/11 at 09:11 PM ET
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from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,

For a while there, Gerry Cheevers felt a little badly about not being able to accept the invitation.

The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, you see, had asked Cheevers to attend this Friday night’s opening game in the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup, at which his St. Mike’s jersey from the ’61 championship team was to be retired.

Cheevers had to beg off because he knew he had knee replacement surgery scheduled for mid-April in Florida, a procedure that had been moved up from August when his surgeon had a surprise opening.

But Cheevers, 70, had an even bigger surprise coming.

The stress test prior to his knee surgery revealed a 95 per cent blockage in his heart, and instead of fixing a joint, doctors put Cheevers under the knife the next day for open-heart surgery and a quadruple heart bypass.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, Non-NHL Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Gerry+Cheevers,

Robitaille’s Financial Issue Will Not Impact His Job

by Paul on 05/18/11 at 08:09 PM ET
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from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

The aftermath of a soured business partnership between Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille and jailed financier William “Boots” Del Biaggio III that left Robitaille responsible for a $2-million line of credit has led a bank to foreclose on the Santa Monica home owned by Robitaille, a longtime favorite of Kings fans and president of the club’s business operations.

Robitaille, however, isn’t expected to lose the home and won’t lose his job while he settles his financial obligations.

“I have nothing to hide,” Robitaille said Wednesday. He otherwise declined to comment on the foreclosure action, which was first reported Tuesday by TMZ.com. TMZ did not identify the bank.

Tim Leiweke, president of the Kings’ parent company, AEG, said via email that AEG is working with Luc Robitaille and the former player’s wife, Stacia.

“This issue,” said Leiweke, “is short term, very fixable and will not have an impact on Luc’s responsibilities with the L.A. Kings.”

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Luc+Robitaille,

Who Would You Put YOUR Money On?

by Alanah McGinley on 05/18/11 at 05:00 PM ET
Comments (1)

Bodog is providing some prop bets for the San Jose - Vancouver game tonight.  Among them:

Team to score first in the game

San Jose Sharks:  EVEN
Vancouver Canucks:  -130

Who will record more points?

Joe Thornton (SJ) +120
Daniel Sedin (VAN) -150

P.S. Link at the top will only work for Canadian IPs. All others can view the action on tonight’s game here.

Filed in: NHL Teams, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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