Kukla's Korner Hockey
Category: Toronto-Maple-Leafs
Making Peace At The Winter Classic
by Paul on 02/11/12 at 12:06 PM ET
Comments (1)
from Jeff Marek of Sportsnet,
And it got me thinking: wouldn’t it be great if every year each team involved in the game made some peace with their past? After all, the Classic is supposed to be about the roots of hockey where the game is pure; back to a simpler time when it was just about the joy of playing and nothing else.
In that spirit I submit two names, one from the Leafs and Wings I’d like to see get the Lindros treatment from their former franchises.
Dave Keon: This story is well told already. The animosity goes back to the Harold Ballard era and the hatred between the infamous Maple Leafs owner and Keon predates the Leaf player bolting the franchise for the WHA, to the moment Ballard nixed a trade Keon and his agent had worked out that would have sent him to the New York Islanders for a Stanley Cup run….
Larry Aurie: Detroit’s first true superstar player, Aurie flirted with scoring crowns, led the Wings to two Stanley Cups (1936, 1937) after never having qualified for the playoffs before he arrived. Aurie was nicknamed “Little Dempsey” because of his likeness to former boxing champ Jack Dempsey (to say nothing of his own fighting prowess) and “Rags,” due to his uncanny ability to rag the puck while killing penalties.
Aurie was a favourite of former Wings owner James Norris, who immediately retired Aurie’s No. 6 after he hung up the blades. However, after Mike Ilitch bought the Wings he un-retired the number, although it still remains out of circulation.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Dave+Keon, Larry+Aurie,
Toronto Honors Sundin Tonight
by Paul on 02/11/12 at 09:42 AM ET
Comments (0)
from Doug Gilmour at the Toronto Sun,
Over the years, I’ve heard about how Mats didn’t really get the full respect he deserved from Leaf fans during his time in Toronto because he might not crush defenders all over the ice like Wendel did, or perform with the same style as yours truly.
In my mind, that has never been a fair comparison.
Everyone is different. Everyone plays with their own style.
Inside our dressing room with the Maple Leafs, we knew what we had with Mats. He was a warrior, a trait he never fully got credit for outside of our room.
But, like I said, we knew.
With Mats deservedly having his No. 13 honoured on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre prior to the game against the Montreal Canadiens, there has been a lot of suggestions that he finally is getting the appreciation he deserved now that he has been out of sight, out of mind for a few years.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Mats+Sundin,
The NHL Gets The 2013 Winter Classic Location Wrong
by Paul on 02/10/12 at 12:15 PM ET
Comments (33)
from Rob Parker at WDIV, It’s official.
The NHL should really be called the NGL, as in National Gimmick League.
It seems like that’s all the National Hockey League is about these days, so much so that it messed up an event that was actually pretty cool.
Somehow, the NHL powers-that-be didn’t believe that Hockeytown was good enough to host the 2013 Winter Classic.
Terrible.
Instead, they scheduled the Jan. 1 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings to play at Michigan Stadium. The league simply dissed the fact these two Original Six teams having been playing in Detroit for more than 50 years. Instead, they want to set some silly attendance record by using the Big House to sell more than 100,000 tickets.
It’s cheap, it’s tasteless. Especially since a few years ago Michigan and Michigan State did it already in a college
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,
Toronto Needs Goaltending Help
by Paul on 02/10/12 at 10:08 AM ET
Comments (3)
from Mike Brophy of Sportsnet,
So perhaps a No. 1 centre may not be the top priority for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline after all.
On a night when Tyler Bozak, who skates between Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul on Toronto’s top line, scored two goals, the focus moved off him and directly into the goal crease.
Leafs goalie James Reimer entered the night riding a three-game winning streak—two of which were shutouts—but he struggled in a 4-3 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. In a game where the Leafs really needed big saves, he didn’t have enough in his arsenal. And as well as his partner, Jonas Gustavsson, has played when given the chance to start, the Leafs goaltending continues to be an area of concern on a nightly basis.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Bringing Up The Old-School Stories
by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:59 AM ET
Comments (4)
from Mike Brudenelli of the Detroit Free Press,
“When Bill (Ezinicki) turned pro, it started all over again,” Lindsay said. “He was traded to Boston, and one night we were playing in Detroit and he hit me over the brow with his stick, and there was blood all over the place. We didn’t have helmets or face masks then.
“Anyway, I thought I can’t let the guy get away with it, so I took my stick and whacked him where he whacked me. He drops his gloves and stick, and I thought, ‘Lindsay, you’ve created a mess for yourself now.’
“Well, we got going, and I don’t know where Bill’s mind was that night ... but I knocked two of his teeth out and put 22 stitches in him. The officials separated us. Bill was bleeding, and I was happy.”
Ezinicki broke away from a linesman and the battled started again.
“I jumped on him and straddled him ... and started punching,” Lindsay said. “Gordie (Howe) says, ‘Ted, he’s out.’ I said, ‘I’m going to kill the SOB.’
“After taking a shower, I headed into the first-aid room. I poked my head in and said, ‘You all right, Izzy?’
“He replied: ‘I’ll get you, you SOB.’ “
read on for Mickey Redmond’s reaction to the Winter Classic…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL Talk, Old School | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Lindsay,
Video- Hartnell Celebrates A Goal With A Fight
by Paul on 02/09/12 at 08:10 PM ET
Comments (4)
Both Scott Hartnell and Dion Phaneuf received 5 for fighting and Hartnell also was given 2 for slashing.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Dion+Phaneuf, Scott+Hartnell,
What Will The Next 24/7 Bring?
by Paul on 02/09/12 at 05:34 PM ET
Comments (2)
from Justin Bourne of The Score,
So while there’s bound to be a number of surprises as there have been in the past, there’s also a few things we know we can count on being great, as we knew John Tortorella was going to be.
Here are five of those things:
The coaches: Ron Wilson and Mike Babcock
Get this: when Peter Laviolette was asked who he thought could be the breakout star from a Red Wings/Leafs 24/7 he said….Ron Wilson. Insert Tim Allen question-grunt sound here. (James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail got a number of great quotes from Laviolette on 24/7, which you can read here).
“I know Ron – he’ll have fun with it,” Laviolette said of Wilson, who he has coached with internationally with Team USA. “He’s got a good personality [for the show].
I did not see that coming.
What I DO see coming is the enigma that is Mike Babcock. He’s going to HATE having the cameras in his office, in his dressing room and every way he turns. The man is a serious Canadian beauty who puts hockey ahead of all else (and actually reminds me of a likable Bill Belichick, especially in his preparation).
He’s a great guy who doesn’t reveal his personality much over the course of a season, but I think over those four weeks, we’ll get to see it. If he agrees to go through with it, I can see him ending up pretty high on the list of coaches we’ve seen so far.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
2013 Winter Classic Announcement
by Paul on 02/09/12 at 10:11 AM ET
Comments (5)
If available, I will post a stream of the announcement which is scheduled for 10:30am ET.
Streaming should be from both Comerica Park at 10:30am followed by a conference at 11:15am from The Big House.
Stream can be watched below when available…
added 10:26am, Stream is now live below…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,
The Schenn Brothers Together In Philadelphia?
by Paul on 02/08/12 at 11:06 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,
Luke Schenn has a natural inclination to watch out for his kid brother Brayden.
And while that task would be a lot easier if both were on the same bench for the Philadelphia Flyers, that’s not quite the close proximity that Luke is thinking of right now. While gainfully employed by the Maple Leafs, there continues to be speculation Luke will somehow join Brayden in orange and black by the Feb. 27 trade deadline, if not elsewhere.
Something with the Leafs and Flyers was cooking a few weeks ago for forward James van Riemsdyk, before the Flyer winger suffered a concussion. He remains out of their lineup, while Philly is still looking for depth on defence after losing Chris Pronger.
For Thursday at least, the Schenns will be on opposite sides of the Wells Fargo Center. The six-foot, 200-pound Brayden’s place on the Flyers was unclear in the first meeting back in November.
“Knock on wood, he’s playing (regularly) there now and he’s healthy,” Luke said. “That’s good to see. I’m excited to be going down there and looking forward to having dinner with him (Wednesday night).”
note 11:55pm, The original title was a human error by me, I had Toronto instead of Philadelphia. Sorry for getting Leafs fans excited.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Brayden+Schenn, Luke+Schenn,
The Big House Will Host The 2013 Winter Classic
by Paul on 02/08/12 at 12:38 PM ET
Comments (5)
from Paige Percy and Matt Slovin of The Michigan Daily,
The NHL will pay the University $3 million to rent the Big House and will require use of the stadium from Dec. 1, 2012 to mid-January, according to a communication to the regents from Athletic Director Dave Brandon and Timothy Slottow, the University’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. The Winter Classic game will take place on Jan. 1, 2013 and has an alternate date of Jan. 2, 2013.
During the meeting, Brandon said the NHL is expected to donate a “significant” amount to student scholarships at the University from its charitable foundation….
Brandon said he expects the event to draw in excess of $14 million in economic activity to Ann Arbor.Newman added that the economic boost is one of the key reasons the regents approved the lease.
“One of the factors that we discussed when considering this was the economic value to the city of Ann Arbor and the surrounding community and the goodness this would do for restaurants and hotels and shops and other activity in the area,” Newman said. “I think that at a time of year where it’s otherwise quiet, doing something like this makes a lot of sense.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,
About KK 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.
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