Kukla's Korner Hockey

Caps Goalie Johnson Out 6-8 Weeks

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 11:20 PM ET
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From TSN:

Capitals goalie Brent Johnson will have hip surgery next week and is expected to miss up to two months.

The decision to have the operation was made Thursday. The Capitals said Johnson could be out six-to-eight weeks.

continued...

Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: brent+johnson,

Peddling the Coyotes

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 10:20 PM ET
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From David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail:

Gary Bettman struck out at least three times in attempts to peddle the Phoenix Coyotes, according to multiple sources.

The sources say the NHL commissioner was turned down by Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, by Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver and by Ken Kendrick, the managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, on separate occasions. All three were said to have backed out after looking at the books of the Coyotes, who are expected to lose as much as $45-million (all currency U.S.) this season.

“It’s not happening,” a source close to Reinsdorf said yesterday. “They’re begging him to do it, but there’s no way. He has no interest. Who would?”

Reinsdorf, Sarver and Kendrick could not be reached for comment. Bill Daly, the deputy commissioner of the NHL, declined to comment.

continued...

Filed in: NHL Teams, Phoenix Coyotes | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Sabres Turn it Around with Defense

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 07:42 PM ET
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From Pierre LeBrun at ESPN (h/t to Sabres Insider):

Coach Lindy Ruff was more blunt: The trap is back.

“Most teams now have four, five guys back,” Ruff said. “It’s a 1-4 now. They’re lining up, a five-man group in the neutral zone.”

So the Sabres also felt the need to tighten up. But hey, let’s not get carried away here. The Sabres remain a skilled and entertaining team, underlined most recently by a 10-2 drubbing of the Edmonton Oilers. But if there’s an overwhelming reason for Buffalo’s turnaround, it is that Ruff has finally gotten through to his players about defensive awareness after pounding them with the message since training camp.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Mid-Season Coaching Changes

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 04:57 PM ET
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From Jim Kelley of Sports Illustrated:

The Cory Clouston era kicked off in Ottawa this week.

The hope of the Senators and their fans is that the new coach, fresh up from Binghamton in the American Hockey League, will be the second coming of Bruce Boudreau, the veteran minor league coach who took over a foundering Capitals team and drove it to the Southeast Division championship on the final day of the 2007-08 regular season.

Not to be disparaging of an NHL newbie who was just getting his style unwrapped in the AHL, but I have a two-word view on that possibility: fat chance.

continued with a look at all the teams who’ve had coaching changes this season

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Cory+Clouston,

Owen Nolan Out For Friday

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 04:07 PM ET
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From the CP via TSN,

The Minnesota Wild will be without veteran forward Owen Nolan when they play the Nashville Predators on Friday.

Nolan skated Thursday but was too sore with what the team is calling upper body muscle spasms. Nolan’s 12 goals this season are just three behind team leader Mikko Koivu despite playing in 19 fewer games.

continued...

Filed in: NHL Teams, Minnesota Wild | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: owen+nolan,

Some Afternoon Reading

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 03:22 PM ET
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• If you’re familiar with LOL cats you’ll understand the concept behind the Nashunal Hocky League o’ Laffs.  You can make and submit your own to the site, too. (Thanks to Miss 604, who pointed this site out to me last night.)
• Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy wonders if Mike Milbury’s colorful comments might be a worthwhile payoff, “[even] if it means stomaching Mike Milbury to hear them.”
• Dan Pollard at TSN looks at how justice is meted out in the NHL by Colin Campbell.
• Stu Hackel at the NYT Slapshot blog looks at Gary Bettman’s media offensive this week, appearing on FSN Arizona to talk about the Coyotes last night, and on The Hour in Canada tonight.  Plus NHL talk on trades and more.

Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The NHL Hour with Peter Chiarelli

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 02:57 PM ET
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Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli will be the guest on today’s edition of NHL Hour with Gary Bettman.

The show is on from 4-5 p.m. ET on XM Satellite Radio (204) and Sirius (208). You can also listen live online at the NHL Network Online once the show starts.

* While on the air, listeners can call into the show at 1-877-645-6696, or send questions/comments to this email address: nhlhour@nhl.com
**Archived shows available for download via podcast on NHL.com.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: gary+bettman, nhl+hour, peter+chiarelli,

The Snowbird Ticket Exchange

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 02:43 PM ET
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From WCBS News Radio:

Ever had to eat tickets to a sporting event which took place while you were on vacation?  Get this. New Jersey Nets season ticket holders can get in on the “Snowbird Exchange Program.”

[NJ Nets Press Release]:  As cold weather takes hold of the Metropolitan area, the Nets and the Florida Panthers have launched the first-ever Snowbird Ticket Exchange Plan in which south Florida-bound Nets season ticket holders can exchange their unused game tickets for Florida Panthers hockey game tickets at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.

More on this from the Associated Press.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Florida Panthers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: nba, new+jersey+nets, snowbird+ticket+exchange,

Grabovski vs The Kostitsyn Brothers

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 01:34 PM ET
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From the CP via TSN:

The reason for the rivalry remains unknown, however team mates on both sides believe it has something to do with sharing the same nationality. Older brother Andrei [Kostitsyn] would not discuss the feud but did state that [Mikhail] Grabovski “…talks too much in the Russian newspapers about me and my brother.”

While both players were born in Belarussia, Grabovski believes that Kostitsyn’s heritage should be questioned. “I think he is not Belarussian now, he is French because I never fight with Belarussian guys.”

Canadiens heavyweight Georges Laraque thought the prospect of the two flyweights throwing down would be hilarious.

“I think it would look really funny,” Laraque said of the potential tilt between the pair who are both generously listed at 5’11”.

read on for the full story

Filed in: NHL Teams, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: andrei+kostitsyn, mikhail+grabovski, sergei+kostitsyn,

Jonathan Roy Going to Trial

by Alanah McGinley on 02/05/09 at 12:49 PM ET
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From Canwest News via the National Post:

The son of former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy, Jonathan, will be tried on July 13 in connection with a nasty hockey brawl last year.

Roy, a goalie for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, was charged with assault after an on-ice fight last March and has pleaded not guilty.

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Youth Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: jonathan+roy, qmjhl,

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