Kukla's Korner

A Skinny ‘Monster’

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 01:17 PM ET | Comments (1)

from Joe O’Conner of the National Post,

For about six years now, Jonas Gustavsson has been skinny. Not slender, just skinny. His legs are skinny. His waist and chest are skinny. And even his face is skinny. Dress him in a skinny black tie and a skinny black suit and Gustavsson would not look out of place in a jazz club full of New York hipsters, circa 1955.

“It doesn’t matter how much I eat or how much I practise—I get stronger, but I just can’t get any bigger,” says the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender who begins each day with bacon and eggs, toast and an assortment of fruit, and ends it with a bedtime snack. “Everything I eat, I burn away. But I think this is the right way for me.”

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Jonas+Gustavsson,

I NOW Consider Joe Thornton A Hall Of Famer

Blog: The Puck Stops Here By PuckStopsHere

11/07/09 at 12:57 PM ET | Comments (1)

I like to try to pinpoint the time in a player’s career when he cements himself as Hall of Fame player.  This is the point where his Hall of Fame credentials are strong enough that anything that does or does not happen in the remainder of his career cannot threaten his value as a Hall of Famer.  Today, I believe that Joe Thornton has made it to this level.

With the year 2010 less than two months away, it is natural to start looking at the results over the decade 2000-2009 (some might chose decades as 2001-2010 or to correspond with the start and end of NHL seasons but the results remain about the same).  It is clear that Joe Thornton will be the highest scorer in the NHL over the 2000-2009 decade.  He has 783 regular season points so far.  This puts him ahead of a Jarome Iginla and Daniel Alfredsson tie for second place with 712 points.  Jaromir Jagr is fourth with 671 points and is no longer playing in the NHL.  It is clear that Thornton will be the top scorer in this (2000-2009) decade and extremely likely that he will be the top scorer in the 2001-2010 decade (he currently has an 80 point lead).

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
  Tags: Boston+Bruins, Joe+Thornton, San+Jose+Sharks,

Caps Put Michael Nylander On Waivers

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 12:23 PM ET | Comments (0)

Per Bob McKenzie’s Twitter,

Washington puts Michael Nylander on waivers.

His salary cap hit is almost $4.9M and it runs thru the end of next season.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Michael+Nylander,

Power Play Observations

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 11:58 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Scott Cullen of TSN,

The NHL season is far enough along to get a feel for how teams are distributing their power play minutes.  In most cases, it’s obvious, or at least readily apparent, who is going to get that precious playing time, but here are some observations with regards to each team’s power play ice time.

ATLANTA
Despite little production, LW Vyacheslav Kozlov ranks third on the Thrashers with 3:57 of power play time.  D Tobias Enstrom is the mainstay on the blueline (4:48), with Zach Bogosian (2:00) and Pavel Kubina (1:59) splitting time.  Ron Hainsey (0:59) is pretty much on the outside looking in.

DETROIT
Removing an injured Johan Franzen from the equation, LW Dan Cleary ranks sixth on the Wings in power play time, with 3:10 per game, yet has just two points with the man advantage.  Jonathan Ericsson, who leads Red Wings defencemen with eight points, has a total of one second on the power play.

read on for a look at every NHL team…

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Versus/Directv Negotiations Talk

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 11:02 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News,

More than two months after their contract ended, Versus and DirecTV remain at distribution loggerheads, their impasse showing no signs of subsiding.

However, a pair of external factors - negotiations toward a long-term expanded distribution package with Dish Network and the potential union of Comcast with NBC Universal - could exert pressures that facilitate a resolution.

Comcast’s national sports service has been off the No. 1 DBS provider’s air since their contract expired on Sept. 1. In the meantime, the parties have continued to negotiate a four-year deal, but remained locked in their stances over price and positioning, while Versus continues to ring up Nielsen advances.

The ratings amelioration has come without DirecTV’s 14 million-plus homes, as much of that subscriber loss has been made up by sneak previews on a number of cable operators and Dish Network, which has provided Versus a full berth of its homes. As such, Versus’ sub count has only declined to 71 million homes from 75 million, before the DirecTV drop.

The Dish free preview, though, is slated to end on Nov. 30. However, sources familiar with the negotiations indicate that Versus and Dish are moving toward a more permanent, expanded placement for the network.

continued

Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, VERSUS | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Directv,

2010 HHOF Class?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 10:55 AM ET | Comments (0)

Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun discuss next year’s possible HHOF class.

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: HHOF,

The Mystery Man For The NHLPA

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 08:58 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette,

What they need is someone with a hockey background who has played on both sides of the street. The best-case scenario is that he’s a lawyer, has worked in the NHL front office, must have held an executive position with an NHL team to understand the players’ needs, and has to be strong enough and knows enough about what goes on within league ranks to play on a level field with Bettman.

He has to know what is needed by the players, know what the game itself needs to grow.

The man I have in mind who is eminently qualified for the post is out there. Trouble is, nobody associated with the NHLPA’s search committee is aware of it.

Don’t ask me who I would go after. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.

more

Filed in: NHLPA | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

No Longer The Favorite

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 08:54 AM ET | Comments (5)

from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

Even Holland conceded that for the first time since he has been in Detroit, the Red Wings are no longer thought of as championship contenders.

“It’s a long-term plan,” Holland said prior to tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “If you just hang onto the old guys, eventually everyone’s play falls off at the same time and it’s a long way back. What we’re trying to do is put a team on the ice that we think is going to be capable of being a playoff team. At the same time, we’re trying to get some younger people going.

“Obviously, we’ve played at a high level for a long time. We lost all the offence in the offseason. And some of our key guys are getting older. Nick Lidstrom is 39 and turning 40 in May. The expectations are at some point in time we’re going to decline.”

It has been a while since “decline” has been in the Red Wings’ vocabulary.

more

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

Wild Owner Says Effort Is There, Wins Will Come

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

11/07/09 at 08:49 AM ET | Comments (0)

from Bruce Brothers of the Pioneer Press,

Craig Leipold admits he often isn’t thrilled with what he sees when he watches the Wild from the owner’s box at the Xcel Energy Center.

Leipold’s team has won just five of 15 games this season and, as it did during the first period of a 5-2 home loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, there are times when it seems no one is in sync.

“I’m thinking just like every other fan was,” Leipold said Friday, shaking his head.

But Leipold, who purchased the Wild in January 2008, said that with new general manager Chuck Fletcher and new coach Todd Richards running the show, things “don’t change overnight.”

When Leipold hired Fletcher last summer, he said he expected the Wild to become a contender for a playoff spot. With the team instead contending for the basement of the NHL in points, you wonder if he’s becoming impatient.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Minnesota Wild | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Bartender, Statesman, Instigator…Voox

Blog: Abel to Yzerman By IwoCPO

11/07/09 at 08:49 AM ET | Comments (40)

JJ from Kansas is gonna be in Toronto this weekend because he won the right to go.  Knowing him, he probably would have gone anyway.

Voox, from what the interns have discovered, lives there and pushes the 19’s agenda at every opportunity.  How?  Thank you for asking.  He just posted this comment a few minutes ago.  Great stuff.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
 

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11          Next »