About Paul Paul Kukla is the man behind the excellent Kukla's Korner blog site. The longtime NHL fan and devoted Red Wings' supporter is joining NHL.com as a regular contributor this season. His blogs are a must read for hockey fans. Feedback E-mail your comments at: pk@kuklaskorner.com Recent Posts We all have time Your questions answered ... hopefully There’s no ducking hockey talk in my neighborhood Sometimes I wonder No rest for the weary during free agency World Wide Web of Hockey Comprehensive list of links Season Archive June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

We all have time

Time. We have so much spare time in the summer, we can actually get bored. As hockey fans, we want hockey 24/7, even during the summer months.

Hockey, hockey, hockey, that's all we want. Today, the Hockey Rabbi delivers in a big way. Prepare yourself for this hockey feast then settle in to have your hockey fix.

Ryan Getzlaf goes home to Regina, Saskatchewan, sets up a road hockey game and the winner get the Cup, yes, the real Stanley Cup. Jes Golbez at the NHL Fan House has the video and pictures.

Pension Plan Puppets writes; What's wrong with this train of thought? When the Leafs have a player like the 28-year-old John Pohl (who I like but is unbelievably expendable) why would they think about trading 23-year-old Matt Stajan just so that they can sign the 33-year-old Mike Peca who is coming off of a major knee injury?

What do the Simpson's and the NHL have in common? The Southeast Shootout lets us know. Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure everyone has heard that the Simpsons movie, a project its diehard fans (read: computer nerds) have been awaiting for almost 20 years, opens nationwide today (July 27th). Whether you're a fan of the jaundiced family or not, it’s hard to deny that this show is something of a cultural revolution ... but it has nothing to do with hockey.

Or does it?

I will let fellow blogger IwoCPO at Abel to Yzerman describe the new blog by Christy of Behind the Jersey fame (and soon to be Red Wings intern), Probably the best Steve Yzerman resource in existence, and it’s like 20 old. Check out Behind the Jersey: No. 19 and make sure to visit the video and photo tabs!

Why not stop by Cason Blog with wishes of continued success. You see, the blog just celebrated its two-year anniversary.

As you can see, hockey bloggers are alive and well. I expect more blogs will appear as we get closer to the start of the season. Also, don't forget to check out the numerous fan blogs at NHL Connect. There is no better place to start blogging, you have the audience, so just start writing!

Posted by Paul @ 4:12 p.m.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Your questions answered … hopefully

I want to work. I want to work on anything hockey related!

Instead of writing about, well, nothing, I thought this week would be the perfect time to answer questions you may have on anything NHL, hockey or hockey blogging related.

Over the past year, I have answered thousands of questions emailed to me, many often covering the same subject. I thought by opening up the questions where everyone can read them (and answer them), it may turn out to be a "reference page" -- giving hockey fans a designated area to ask and answer away.

So, although this blog post is short in words, I hope the Q & A session with hockey fans world wide grows and grows. It is in your hands, hockey fans, ask away here

Please do not email the questions to me. I want the questions to be seen by hockey fans. But if you want to email (pk@kuklaskorner.com) an answer to me (yes, this means you P.R. departments of hockey teams), feel free to do so and I will post the answer to the appropriate question.

Posted by Paul @ 11:17 a.m.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

There’s no ducking hockey talk in my neighborhood

A few weeks ago, in the middle of the UFA signing frenzy, I joked that Colin Campbell should turn on a red light around 9:30 p.m., which would signal no more signings for the day.

Well, Mr. Campbell, is the red light stuck? We need the green light again, and fast!

We are in the "dead period" of the NHL calendar year. So, why not use it to our advantage and kick back and relax a bit?

Yesterday I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood, re-introduce myself to the neighbors, watch the grass grow and get a little fresh air.

Saw Tommy and his wife Kathy on the front porch, watching their three children playing on the front lawn. "Yo Paulie" Tommy yelled, "What are the Wings doing this summer?"

"Sorry Tommy, I am taking a break from hockey, how about those Tigers?" I asked.

"Forget about the Tigers, this is Hockeytown and I want hockey talk."

I mumbled under my breath and moved on.

Little Billy, who by the way, has grown about four inches since I last saw him, whizzed by me on his roller blades and quickly turned around and asked me if I could recommend a pair of hockey skates for him to buy. I mumbled more, patted him on the head and moved on.

Whoosh, whack ... ugh! Ah sound the sound of a hockey stick hitting the pavement and then the sound of a red puck hitting me in the back of the head. I grabbed the puck, put it in my pocket and picked up my walking pace. The kids yelled back; "Make sure you have Zetterberg sign it!"

"Paul, Paul, come on in, I have something to show you," the techie geek neighbor said.

"Now what?” I thought to myself, he must have the new phone, the one that you think you can do everything on except type, because the tiny keyboard was designed for people with fingers-like pencils. Instead, techie Joe shoved a DVD into his player and lo-and-behold, Game 1 of the SCF shows up. He wants to critique the play-by-play. I want to get Doc Emrick on the phone and have him tell him off personally.

I head home, get in my car and head to the local coffee shop. I open the door, only to be greeted by the local board of the hockey association; I walk out.

I stop by the barber shop, peer in, and to my delight no one is there. I hop into the chair, close my eyes and think I have found peace. Jimmy the Barber taps me on the shoulder, pointing to a picture of Steve Yzerman lifting the Cup over his head. Jimmy begins to tell me the story on how he obtained the picture. I pretend to fall asleep, knowing if I open my mouth, Jimmy may just have an accident with those scissors.

Unable to escape the hockey world, even in mid-July, I stop back in the coffee shop, sit down with the hockey association boys and to my surprise, find them talking football. They needed a break too.

***

This morning in the Ottawa Citizen I read this quote from Bobby Hull speaking about the passing of John Ferguson; "Every time another soldier falls, it brings us closer to the wall. I'm going to be 68 in January. Where has the time gone?"

Indeed Bobby. As the days go by, that means one less day to honor and cherish the old time hockey players who are the backbone of the NHL. If you see an "old school" player, sit down with them for five minutes. You will walk away with a greater understanding of hockey and an appreciation for those players who played for the love of the game.

Posted by Paul @ 10:01 a.m.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Sometimes I wonder

* David Beckham has scored 17 goals in 96 games (oops, sorry, matches). Looks like grind line stats to me.

* Haven't checked in the last half hour, but is the Home Run Derby contest still going on?

* In baseball, the pitcher who gives up the "walk-off" home run leaves the field with head down and dejected. In hockey, teammates congratulate for a good game. Just once, I would like to see it the other way around.

* I had a football coach tell me recently that hockey players are not considered elite athletes since they can't play more than a minute and half without getting tired. I told him hockey players don't play all out for six seconds, then rest in a huddle for 30 more seconds. He left me with his mouth wide open, but no other words were spoken.

* I am having trouble writing about the new jersey. People think I am referring to New Jersey whenever I bring up the new jersey. At least I will get it right once soon with this headline -- New Jersey for New Jersey.

* Alexander Ovechkin is known as AO. Glad we didn't try that with Bobby Orr.

* If Jeremy Roenick officially retires, he should head right to the NBC to replace Brett Hull.

* The Wings signed Dallas Drake yesterday. Is Randy McKay next on the list?

* Training camp open in a little over two months. Talk about a never ending season.

* Why do players still wear the mullet? Don't they know?

* Whatever became of Ziggy Palffy?

* Just a reminder to all the fans giddy and jumping for joy with their UFA signings and trades that have bolstered the lineup. It all comes down to goaltending ... J.S Giguere, Cam Ward and Nikolai Khabibulin ring a bell?

* I have become familiar with over 100 hockey bloggers during the past few seasons. But one thing I always wonder is what do they do for a living? I want to know and I bet others do to. Let me know here (http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/always_wanted_to_know/) and please include your blog name and url.

Posted by Paul @ 9:49 a.m.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

No rest for the weary during free agency

Click, Click, Click, Go back a page, Click, Refresh, Refresh, Click, Refresh.

Radio station stream, video stream, radio station stream, click, new tab, refresh ...

Ah, the life of a hockey fan. My fingers are stubs, my CPU is smoking, the mouse is crying and my family life has gone down the drain. 2300 emails in three days, 2290 unanswered.

Sampling of those emails, "Did you hear...", "Did you read...", "Drury is a ...", "Bertuzzi is a damn Duck", "This is your sister, why aren't you responding, are you busy?"

I run a hockey website full-time. What do I do when I need a break, well of course, I search the web for hockey news. It doesn't make sense, but that is what I do and I am loving it.

I took a quick survey on Sunday, asking hockey fans how long they were on the web for UFA kick-off day. I received answers that did not surprise me. Many were on the web for 10 hours or more, looking and more importantly, getting signing updates the minute it happened.

How about all those people at work. Probably more than half of you are there right now, and I realize you are secretly surfing the web for anything hockey, while glancing over your left shoulder, looking out for bossman or the office snitch. Why do you do what you do? Because you love hockey.

Forget trade day in the NHL, UFA Week (Month) blows it away. Since both Canada Day and Independence Day happen to fall in UFA Week, I propose we move these holidays to the following week -- when we could really use a little down time.

If Parliament and Congress are a little concerned about hockey fans messing with history, then maybe we can influence our Commish to move the start of UFA Week to July 7th. This would allow us to enjoy the real holidays (and recover from NHL Draft week), spend some time with our families, then get down to hockey business. As it stands now, instead of enjoying a picnic or outing, I will be clicking and clicking, waiting for another breaking story of a player signing. Come to think of it, I could be clicking and waiting up to training camp. Will this madness ever stop?

A note to the fans of teams that lost a key player(s) during this UFA period. It is too early to get down on your team. Moves will be made, team management will do everything in their power to ice a competitive team. The hole in the lineup right now looks large, but come October, that hole will appear smaller and smaller. Give it time, things just may work out for the best.

Now, start clicking again, over and over and over, it never ends!

Posted by Paul @ 11:31 a.m.