Kukla's Korner Hockey

Sunday Rumor Talk

by Paul on 01/18/09 at 08:36 AM ET
Comments (4)

from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

• The word is Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is shopping C Daniel Briere and his huge contract. While Briere has extended his rehab assignment from a groin injury with AHL’s Phantoms through tonight, Holmgren has been trying to find room for his $6.5-million (all terms US) cap hit. Since finding somebody to take Briere, who has missed 29 of the club’s last 30 games, is going to be nearly impossible because he has five years left on his deal, the club will likely have to move D Randy Jones and RW Joffrey Lupul to make room for Briere.

• Pat Quinn is considered the top candidate to replace Therrien, TSN analyst Pierre McGuire shouldn’t be ruled out as a possible replacement.

more of the rumor talk

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The Cuban Donation

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 10:23 PM ET
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Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks Owner, wants to give $25K to the NHLPA Goals and Dreams Fund in the names of Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore.

Read more at Newsday via the AP.

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No Plans To Trade Spezza

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 10:09 PM ET
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from Ian Mendes of Sportsnet,

Jason Spezza has been a lightning rod for criticism in Ottawa this season, but Senators general manager Bryan Murray has no intention of trading his superstar centre.

“I don’t know that you’d ever not trade anyone, but Jason is not on the trading block,” Murray told Sportsnet prior to Saturday’s home game against the Montreal Canadiens. “He is a guy that you should be able to build a hockey team around.”...

“He’s a good player on this hockey club. I don’t know how you acquire another guy like this if you trade him away,” continued Murray. “My intent is not to do that. I think the core here is a good core. We just have to help them a little bit in a couple areas.”

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Jason+Spezza,

Staal Becoming Rangers Top Defenseman

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 08:44 PM ET
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from Steve Zipay of Newsday,

The main difference in his game this season, Staal said, is a growing comfort level.

“I’m not the type of person who gets nervous,” said Staal, whose low-key public demeanor brightens considerably away from the media, teammates said. “Sure, in my first game and my first playoff game, but otherwise I stay loose. When the anthem starts, I focus on the game.”

Don’t consider him laid-back, though. Staal is pushing to get better “in everything, from bringing the puck up ice to getting better shots,” he said. “There’s no doubt that the more I play, I have more confidence, I’m seeing the ice better and I’m learning a lot just by watching other players. And I worked hard over the summer to get stronger.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Marc+Staal,

Update On Rob Blake

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 05:06 PM ET
Comments (1)

from David Pollak of Working the Corners,

Officially, the Sharks still aren’t saying exactly what injury has sidelined Rob Blake after he blocked a shot against Calgary only to have the puck roll up the shaft of his stick and strike him in the chin.

“I won’t go into the test results, but it was better than we thought,” Coach Todd McLellan said.

But Blake did meet with reporters this morning and some of the damage is pretty obvious: a walnut-sized swelling on his lower left jaw and a wiring mechanism in place that limits its mobility.

Unofficially, another player identified Blake’s problem as a fracture.

Blake was able to talk — his jaw, he said, would be wired shut only a couple hours each day — but he wouldn’t spell out the precise damage, saying that they still wanted to do more tests.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, San Jose Sharks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Rob+Blake,

The NHL & Europe Talk

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 01:21 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

The NHL will continue to send teams to Europe to kick off its regular season, and the world’s best players will meet in the 2011 World Cup of Hockey after the league and players’ association reached a compromise on how revenues from those international efforts will be divvied up, ESPN.com has learned.

Those international events—important to the league’s efforts to increase a worldwide presence and generate revenue—were in jeopardy as the two sides could not agree on how the players’ union was going to be able to use the money it receives for taking part.

A handshake agreement between the two sides has been reached, however, and barring some dramatic turn of events, the NHL will send six teams to three European cities to kick off the 2009-2010 season.

continued

Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Dubielewicz Claimed By Columbus

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 12:35 PM ET
Comments (3)

via IslandersPointBlank,

The Columbus Blue Jackets have plucked Wade Dubielewicz off the waiver wire. Columbus, without Pascal Leclaire, was the other NHL team that really wanted the goalie.

added 12:55pm, from Greg Logan of On the Islanders Beat,

Shortly after Wade Dubielewicz came off the ice at the Islanders’ pre-game skate this morning at the Coliseum, he received a telephone call from general manager Garth Snow informing him that he had been claimed on waivers by Columbus.

“I thought he was joking at first, but he wasn’t,” Dubielewicz said. “He was disappointed, and I’m disappointed.”

Dubielewicz quickly packed his gear and headed out to catch a flight to Vancouver to meet the Blue Jackets.

more

added 1:08pm, from Puck-rakers,

Blue Jackets assistant general manager Chris MacFarland said the move does not indicate that Pascal Leclaire will miss the rest of the season because of his ankle injury. That determination is still being made.

“We needed a goaltender,” MacFarland said. “We needed an insurance policy. We’ve gone the last two weeks with the bare minimum.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Wade+Dubielewicz,

Battle For First In The West

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 12:19 PM ET
Comments (2)

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

One point.

That is all that separates the Sharks and Red Wings before the clash of the titans Saturday night in San Jose.

“We’ve been looking at the standings all season long, knowing that they’ve been atop our conference and they’ve been the team to beat this year,” Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom told ESPN.com Friday. “It’s a game we’re looking forward to playing. It’s a bit of a measuring stick for our team to go up against the top team.”

That was Lidstrom’s understated way of saying: We want to kick some butt Saturday night.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Saturday Hockey Talk

by Alanah McGinley on 01/17/09 at 12:05 PM ET
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Inside Hockey

Today, check out the Inside Hockey Radio Show with hosts James Murphy and Todd Carroll and their guests:  Greg Wyshynski (Puck Daddy, Yahoo! Sports), Damian Cristodero (St. Petersburg Times), Bob Snow (NHL.com) and former NHL enforcer Jim Cummins.

The show is on the air from 2-4pm ET on NHL Hockey Ice XM 204, on TEAM 990 and also now on YouCastr.com.  You can call in at 1-877-645-6696 or email radio@insidehockey.com.

Live from Wayne Gretzky’s

After Inside Hockey, at 4pm ET you can tune into Live From Wayne Gretzky’s.  This week, hosts Rod Black and Bob McGill talk to Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets), John Stevens (Flyers Head Coach), Phil Esposito, Tom Renney (Rangers Head Coach) and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa.

The show can be heard online or by local radio via these stations:  XM 204 NHL Home Ice, Team 990 and others.

Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Sekera Out With Ankle Injury

by Paul on 01/17/09 at 11:38 AM ET
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via BuffaloSabres.com,

Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff updated the status of defenseman Andrej Sekera following Saturday’s morning skate.

The blueliner will be out at least two weeks after sustaining an ankle injury Wednesday night in Chicago. Sekera took a hit from Blackhawks’ winger Dustin Byfulgien in the second period of Buffalo’s 4-1 loss and did not return.

“We’ll just evaluate it [after] at least a couple of weeks. Maybe longer,” Ruff said.

Sekera has 13 points (1+12) in 43 games for the Sabres this season.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Andrej+Sekera,

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