Kukla's Korner Hockey

Trying to Move Around the Money

by Alanah McGinley on 01/16/09 at 04:07 PM ET
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From Ken Campbell at The Hockey News:

With Gerber’s current cap hit at $3.7 million, he is virtually untradeable for the Senators. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, the Senators could find a team looking for some goaltending depth for the last two months of the season. Any team wanting to trade for Gerber would owe him $1.4 million for the remainder of the season if it made a deal Feb. 1.

And there’s absolutely no way any team is going to commit that kind of cap space to Gerber. But what if the Senators were willing to pick up half - or more - of the remainder of the contract? Then Gerber might be a more viable option.

The only problem is that isn’t allowed under this collective bargaining agreement.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: cba, martin+gerber, salary+cap,

Kovalchuk’s Learning Curve as Captain

by Alanah McGinley on 01/16/09 at 03:50 PM ET
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From Craig Custance at the Sporting News:

In Kovalchuk’s opinion, he doesn’t have to change a thing because he has a C on his sweater. But he’s wrong.

Even something as simple as planning a Super Bowl party was a task he didn’t have to bother with before Sunday. Guys like Mellanby and Holik were always the last person out of the dressing room following games, wins or losses. If nothing else, it helps deflect some of the attention away from teammates who can quietly sneak out while the captain handles the media.

Following his first game as captain, a 3-2 loss to Ottawa on Wednesday, reporters said Kovalchuk was already gone when the media entered the room. To their credit, the PR staff brought him back out to talk. They shouldn’t have to.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: ilya+kovalchuk,

Vinny Trade Talk Brings Back Memories

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 02:03 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

Lightning general manager Brian Lawton issued the obligatory public denials this week, which must of necessity be taken at face value. Lecavalier is not on the block; has never been on the block; and never will be on the block.

OK, we can go with that officially - for now.

But just in case the Tampa brain trust ever changes its collective mind, a Lecavalier deal would be reminiscent of the landmark transaction that saw Eric Lindros go from the Quebec Nordiques to the Philadelphia Flyers for what eventually amounted to a one-for-eight deal. And something for the Canadiens to keep in mind: In hindsight, if Peter Forsberg hadn’t evolved into one of the most dominant players of his era, the decision to give up quantity for quality wouldn’t really have hurt the Flyers too much.

read on with many more NHL topics..

Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

You Want Stress?  Try Being The Canadiens Goalie

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 01:55 PM ET
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from Lindsay Berra of ESPN The Magazine,

...But love can fade. Montreal’s fans and media, all famously fickle, have forgotten that they were a
little too quick with the anointing oil last season—and the boiling oil when things went south. It’ll take another run in the playoffs to see which kind is on hold for Price these days.

continue for a look at Canadiens goalie Carey Price…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Montreal Canadiens | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Carey+Price,

Lightning Need To Fix Their PR Problem

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 01:36 PM ET
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from Spector at Fox Sports,

As much as fans and media in more “traditional” hockey markets love to disparage the fans of Sun Belt franchises such as Tampa Bay, Lightning fans aren’t fools.

They’ve seen a Stanley Cup champion built only to be torn apart by salary cap constraints and questionable moves. They gave the new ownership a chance but have been sorely disappointed by the results so far. They’re openly questioning the business savvy of Koules and Barrie and the management ability of rookie GM Lawton.

Thanks to the off-ice bungling and the on-ice mediocrity, the Lightning have a serious PR problem in Tampa Bay. Dealing away Lecavalier — be it for financial reasons, by his request or a serious attempt to rebuild — would be like tossing gasoline on the fire, especially if the return fails to significantly address the club’s needs.

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Mid-Season Firings

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 01:26 PM ET
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Scott Burnside & Pierre LeBrun of ESPN discuss firing a coach during the season… 

Burnside: I just think it’s such a knee-jerk reaction to fire a coach who has done so much for a franchise. I’m talking specifically about the Penguins in this case, but I think it’s often just ownership or management’s way of appeasing fans and the media. “Look,” they say, “we’re doing something. We fired the coach.” But I think you have to think long and hard about whether it’s really the coach or other factors that have gone into a team’s decline….

LeBrun: It means the players are no longer listening to the coach. Like the old Charlie Brown skit, all they hear is “Blah, blah, blah” when the mouth opens. I’m not sure that’s happening with Therrien or not, but it’s just a guess. Listen, I will give Therrien his due. It’s because of him the Penguins became a much better defensive team when he took over. He taught them defensive discipline, and that was a key in their ride to the Cup finals last spring. But this season? There’s been a lot of uninspired hockey from that team….

more and not just Pittsburgh exclusive…

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The E.J. Story With NHL Live

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 12:49 PM ET
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via Ken Schott of the Daily Gazette,

Hradek, who was co-host of the two-hour talkshow that is on NHL Network and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio with Don La Greca, hasn’t been on the show for a couple of months. At the top of the show, Hradek explained that his full-time employer, ESPN, has problems with him being on the show. Hradek is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a contributor to ESPNEWS.

Hradek said a compromise was reached where he can be a “guest” on “NHL Live.” He is hoping to work out a deal with ESPN where he can be on “NHL Live” more.

Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: E.J.+Hradek,

Blues Continue On Course

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 11:38 AM ET
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from Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

For the record, Checketts is staying the course. He stands behind John Davidson’s plan to build a contender through player development.

“I know everybody from John on down is working very hard and is upset that our record isn’t better,” Checketts said.

He remains supportive of coach Andy Murray, whose job security has become the subject of Internet speculation.

“The guy is coaching his tail off,” Checketts said. “He’s effective. The guys are playing hard.”

He would like to re-sign Andy McDonald to a new contract rather than trade him away to a contender seeking rental help for the stretch run.

In other words, Checketts said all the right things for a man in his position. And thus far in his regime, Checketts has been a man of his word.

more on the Blues…

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Canucks Flat Again

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 10:53 AM ET
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from Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province,

Now what? Head coach Alain Vigneault has tried benching players, demoted players, put his top forwards on the bottom line.

He has coddled and he has carved his team.

We are all still waiting for some sort of response.

Heck, a heartbeat or two would do right now.

Luongo showed his rust right away when he was beat on the first shot he faced.

He crossed himself up going post-to-post and looked as awkward as you will ever see him when the little-known Joakim Lindstrom tucked the puck between his legs.

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All-Time Montreal All-Stars

by Paul on 01/16/09 at 10:36 AM ET
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from Red Fisher at NHL.com,

My 50 years on the Canadiens beat have included dynasties that delivered Stanley Cups five years in a row from 1955-56 through 1959-60 and in four consecutive years starting in 1975-76. I’ve seen them win 17 of their 24 Cups, so imagine for a moment the glittering quality of those players as individuals and as teams.

It’s all in the numbers: 21 of the skaters and four goaltenders (Jacques Plante, Gump Worsley, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy) who wore the CH on their hearts during the last half-century have been voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (current Montreal coach and former player Guy Carbonneau has been nominated, but hasn’t received the required number of votes ... yet.)

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Montreal Canadiens | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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