Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: Jason+Blake
The Savardian Spin, Phase 2
by Paul on 12/17/08 at 08:17 AM ET
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from Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun,
New Jersey Devils goaltender and former Maple Leafs farmhand Scott Clemmensen will be having nightmares of Jason Blake for some time to come.
Blake pulled off one of the most spectacular moves in recent shootout history to score on Clemmensen last night at the Air Canada Centre and give the Leafs a 3-2 victory.
Toronto’s fourth shooter, Blake charged in on Clemmensen, slammed on the brakes in front of the net, did the old Savardian spin-o-rama, and then backhanded a shot past the bewildered Jersey goaltender.
“He was either going to be a hero or a bum, because anything can happen (with that move),” Toronto coach Ron Wilson said afterwards. “But I think it took a lot of guts to try that.”
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What To Do With Jason Blake
by Paul on 11/12/08 at 09:18 AM ET
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from Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun,
The dilemma, of course, is the whopping Blake contract they are shackled with. The veteran forward is in just the second-year of a five-year, $20-million US contract, a deal that will end when Blake is 38.
Blake does not have one of those irritating no-trade clauses in his pact like the famed Muskoka Five sported last season. But as one Eastern Conference general manager said last night: “That ridiculous salary makes it a no-trade contract. So does his age. And so does his reputation.”
If the saga continues to decay, don’t be surprised if the Leafs ship Blake down to the minors. According to sources, it’s a concept that theoretically has been kicked around behind closed doors.
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Keep Your Head Up Jason Blake
by Paul on 10/06/08 at 04:25 AM ET
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Ole-Kristian Tollefsen of the Blue Jackets lines-up Toronto’s Jason Blake…
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Tags: Jason+Blake, Ole-Kristian+Tollefsen,
Blake Going To The Net
by Paul on 10/05/08 at 06:30 AM ET
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from Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star,
(Jason) Blake was not a stranger to new coach Ron Wilson. Wilson had coached him on U.S. national teams and knew the level at which he should be performing. Wilson also watched him on TV last season and it was a different Blake than the one he remembered. He spoke to the winger about it during camp.
“The Jason Blake that I knew on national teams and when he was scoring went hard to the net and competed,” said Wilson.
“Last year, I thought he kind of circled the wagons all the time and took a lot of perimeter shots that were a waste of time. They looked good on paper. He’d come of the game with five shots, but they’re all 50-foot wrist shots. He’s going hard to the net and he’s starting to score now.”
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A New Season For Jason Blake
by Paul on 09/25/08 at 11:40 AM ET
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from James Murphy at NHL.com,
After a tumultuous first season in Toronto both on and off the ice, Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake has found a new lease on life and his career. Blake took time recently to discuss his up-and-down season, what he learned from the experience and how he plans on using these lessons both as a hockey player and a person.
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Jason Blake Feeling Great
by Paul on 09/09/08 at 06:58 AM ET
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from Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star,
“I’m doing great,” said Blake. “I was actually at the doctor last week. Everything is definitely managed. I’ve put it behind me. It’s good to be back and I’m ready to play. My mind is totally clear.
“It’s the best I’ve felt in 10 years. I worked hard this summer. I did a couple of different things to get ready for this year and hopefully it will pay off.”
That Blake seems to be winning his battle with chronic myelogenous leukemia is perhaps the best news of all. He was assured from the beginning it was a beatable form of cancer. Still, the news came as a blow.
“I didn’t think it would take that big of a toll on me. It did,” said Blake. “It’s unfortunate that had to happen.”
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Tags: Jason+Blake,
Blake Has Something to Prove
by Alanah McGinley on 06/13/08 at 08:40 AM ET
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From Paul Hunter at the Toronto Star,
His biggest worry at the start of the season wasn’t hockey, it was wondering whether he would see his three children grow up.
“My heart wasn’t 100 per cent,” he said at the NHL awards gala last night. “It took me a while to figure out that everything was going to be okay.
“It was a tough year, coming to a new city and new team. When you come in you have high expectations. When you get hit hard like that – it’s like walking down the street and you get hit by a semi, blindsided – it was a frustrating year, it was a disappointing year. I’m excited to start fresh next year. I know I’m going to have this the rest of my life and I know I’m going to be okay.
“I have something to prove.”
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In Tribute to Blake…
by Alanah McGinley on 03/18/08 at 01:08 PM ET
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From Tim Wharnsby at the Globe & Mail,
Along the hallway to the New York Islanders dressing room, there are nine plaques commemorating key people from the franchise’s Stanley Cup seasons. From left to right, the wall of fame reads: Bill Torrey, Al Arbour, Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, Bob Nystrom, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier and Bob Bourne — and this morning Jason Blake.
Somebody placed a 10th tribute this morning, a picture of Blake , the former Islander and current Toronto Maple Leafs forward. Under the picture, it read “40-goal scorer.”
“Yeah, I have my sources as to who did it, but I’m not going to say,” said Blake…
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Tags: jason+blake,
Clarke Approves of Downie’s Actions
by Alanah McGinley on 01/09/08 at 02:21 PM ET
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From TSN,
More fuel was thrown on the fire regarding Steve Downie’s sucker punch on Wednesday, with Philadelphia Flyers Senior Vice President Bob Clarke holding the gas can.
Clarke, who selected Downie 29th overall in the 2005 Entry Draft, told TSN’s Off The Record that he enjoyed watching the rookie forward go after Toronto Maple Leafs winger Jason Blake.
“When he went after Blake, I loved it,” Clarke told TSN.
note: GM Paul Holmgren was a bit less understanding the other day.
Update 4:30pm ET: From the Globe & Mail,
After the Leafs’ morning skate Wednesday morning, Blake said brushed aside Clarke’s comments and repeated what he said about Downie a day earlier.
“I don’t care who it is, but in the over-all picture, there’s no place for [those hits],” he said. “You don’t want injuries that will keep you out for the whole season. I’m just thankful there was no structural damage.”
Leafs head coach Paul Maurice put Clarke’s comments down to sticking up for one of his players.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Maurice said. “Whether you’re a player or in the office, you take care of your own.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: bob+clarke, jason+blake, steve+downie,
Downie Continues To Draw Attention To Himself
by Paul on 01/06/08 at 09:46 AM ET
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Steve Downie with a cheapshot on Jason Blake.
Make sure to watch the complete video, comments from Don Cherry and Paul Maurice at the end.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Blake, Steve+Downie,
Blake Heard No Disparaging Comments From Avery
by Alanah McGinley on 12/06/07 at 08:06 PM ET
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From the CP,
If noted New York Rangers agitator Sean Avery made disparaging remarks toward Jason Blake the last time they faced off, the Toronto forward never heard them.
A Toronto radio report following the teams’ previous meeting last month in Canada said a pre-game scuffle between Avery and Leafs counterpart Darcy Tucker was fuelled by a comment that Avery made toward Blake regarding his current battle with leukemia.
FAN 590 reporter Howard Berger had claimed Avery made “cancer-related remarks” to Blake, citing an unidentified Rangers player. Blake was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease in October but has continued to play while being treated.
continued...
Note: report earlier today that MSG denied Berger access to the press box tonight.
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Tags: Howard+Berger, jason+blake, media, new+york+rangers, Sean+Avery,
Avery Gets His Retraction
by Paul on 11/29/07 at 02:04 PM ET
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from William Houston of the Globe and Mail,
The FAN590 in Toronto will retract, on air, its report alleging that New York Ranger Sean Avery had ridiculed Toronto Maple Leaf Jason Blake’s fight with cancer during a trash-talking session at the Air Canada Centre on Nov. 10.
In addition to strongly denying the report, Avery also served the radio station with a notice of libel. The Fan’s Howard Berger had quoted a Ranger source saying Avery had alluded to Blake’s chronic leukemia during an exchange at centre ice before the start of the game.
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Tags: howard+berger, jason+blake, media, new+york+rangers, Sean+Avery,
Report- NHL Looking At Leafs/Rangers Pre-Game Incident
by Paul on 11/12/07 at 07:44 PM ET
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from CBC,
The NHL is investigating an on-ice incident involving abrasive New York Rangers forward Sean Avery, according to the Canadian Press.
Avery, 27, shoved Jason Blake and got into a heated exchange with Darcy Tucker during the pre-game warmup prior to Saturday’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.
“He has no sense of class,” Tucker told reporters following Monday’s skate.
Avery allegedly irked Tucker by saying something inappropriate to Blake, who revealed Oct. 8 that he is suffering from a rare but treatable form of leukemia (chronic myelogenous).
added 6:30am on 11/13/07, from the Globe and Mail,
The agent for New York Rangers forward Sean Avery was steaming mad that a radio report yesterday suggested that taunts made by his client during the pregame skate on Saturday evening were directed toward Toronto Maple Leafs winger Jason Blake, who is battling against cancer.
The FAN 590 in Toronto reported that an unnamed Rangers player said Avery ignited a scuffle with Leafs forward Darcy Tucker because of insensitive remarks.
Although Avery did not publicly comment yesterday on the radio station’s accusation, behind closed doors he and other Rangers said the remarks made by Avery were directed at Tucker and his family.
added 7:01am on 11/13/07, from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,
Sean Avery is preparing to file a libel charge against a Toronto radio personality who reported yesterday that Saturday’s pregame skirmish between the Rangers’ winger and the Maple Leafs’ Darcy Tucker was incited by Avery referring to Jason Blake’s cancer condition, The Post has learned.
Advised by his attorney to decline public comment, Avery has privately denied the charge as broadcast by Howard Berger over The Fan 590.
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Tags: darcy+tucker, jason+blake, new+york+rangers, new+york+rangers, Sean+Avery, toronto+maple+leafs,
Koivu Reflects on His Own Cancer
by Alanah McGinley on 10/09/07 at 06:23 PM ET
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From Shi Davidi of the CP via Yahoo,
Unlike Blake, who will be able to play while treating his chronic myelogenous leukemia, Koivu wasn’t sure he’d survive his treatment, let alone return to play, and the experience still scars him.
“Every time you hear the word cancer or see someone who is going through it, it brings back the memories, it’s part of me right now,” Koivu said Tuesday in Montreal. “There’s some positive things I took from that experience but there’s also a lot of negative things as well.
“It’s there, but it gets easier the more time you get away from the whole thing.”
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Tags: jason+blake, montreal+canadiens, saku+koivu, toronto+maple+leafs,
Stupid Questions
by Alanah McGinley on 10/09/07 at 12:36 PM ET
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From David Shoalts on his Globe & Mail blog,
Blake has the good fortune, if you can call it that, that it was caught in the chronic, or earliest stage, and can be treated with a drug called Gleevec and he is not expected to miss even one game for the Maple Leafs.
But he had the misfortune of having Damien Goddard of Sportsnet attend his press conference.
Goddard asked Blake if cancer put his “mini-slump” into perspective. Blake, who scored 40 goals for the New York Islanders last season, had yet to score in three games for the Leafs.
As jaws in the Leafs’ media centre dropped, Blake looked incredulous.
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Tags: Jason+Blake, media, toronto+maple+leafs,
Cancer Will Change Blake
by Alanah McGinley on 10/08/07 at 04:21 PM ET
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From Scott Morrison at CBC,
Every now and then, reality intrudes in to the world of fun and games, offering us a reminder that professional athletes are really no different than the rest of us.
They laugh, they cry and, sadly, they get sick.
Just like the rest of us.
The latest reminder of how some times we forget, in all the excitement of the games, in all the angst over the winning and losing, that the players are just people, too, came in the troubling news Monday that Maple Leafs winger Jason Blake has been diagnosed with cancer.
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Tags: Jason+Blake, toronto+maple+leafs,
Jason Blake Dealing With Leukemia
by Paul on 10/08/07 at 11:30 AM ET
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from TSN,
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Monday that forward Jason Blake is battling a rare form of leukemia.
“This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia,” Blake said on the team’s website.
“It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer....”
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Tags: Jason+Blake, toronto+maple+leafs,
Is Blake A Fit With Sundin
by Paul on 09/16/07 at 09:08 AM ET
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from the Toronto Star,
Welcome to the club, Jason Blake, the Fraternal Squadron of Mats Sundin Wing Men.
Remember Mikael Renberg? Steve Thomas? Alex Mogilny? Gary Roberts? Eric Lindros? Freddie Modin? Lately, everyone from Tie Domi to Darcy Tucker, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov have flanked Sundin, with mutually less than Cup-calibre results.
Now, it’s Blake’s turn, circa training camp ‘07. Is he the one, the missing link in the magic combo?
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Tags: jason+blake, mats+sundin, toronto+maple+leafs,
