Puck Daddy chats with blogger Paul Kukla about the new Korner

For Web-savvy puckheads, there have been two major site redesigns recently. NHL.com is trotting out a beta version of its spiffy new look, which trades in the cool blue of ice for dark colors typically associated with the desperate cash grabs of alternate jerseys.

But the changes to Paul Kukla's site, KuklasKorner.com, were more than just aesthetic.

Already a daily destination for thousands of fans (and more than a few mainstream media pundits) thanks to its amazing collection of hockey headlines from around the world, KK dramatically expanded its editorial scope by growing its roster of bloggers. In addition to mainstays Bill "The Chief" Houlihan of Abel To Yzerman and Alanah McGinley of Canucks and Beyond, Kukla added eight new bloggers to provide their own insights and news focus.

"What I do is what I do. But I wanted to expand that, and start allowing other people to express their own views on the game of hockey," said Kukla in a recent phone interview. "Some of these bloggers called me, and I called some of them. I was sort of hesitant [when asking them]. But they said, "Are you kidding me? You want me to come and blog for you?"

The additions include Mike Chen, a veteran hockey blogger whose work appears on Fox Sports; Bethany Porter, one of the first and most prominent Columbus Blue Jackets bloggers; the analytical genius of Dirk "The Forechecker" Hoag, a Nashville Predators blogger and Hockey News contributor; the prolific Patrick Hoffman, based out of New York; Carolina Hurricanes blogger David Lee of Red and Black Hockey; as well as focused blogs like Future Considerations, SensHobo and The Puck Stops Here.

We spoke with Kukla about the changes at the Korner, the future of hockey blogging and what to expect from the upcoming season and from his Red Wings.

It seems like the way it worked out you have somebody for each division. Was that the plan?

No, not at all. I didn't care about the divisions or the teams. I just cared about their writing styles. Look: Now we've gotten someone for Nashville, for Columbus and for the Wings. We've got three people from the Central, but I didn't really care about that.

It's a nice balance of styles.

As I call them, it's an "eclectic group."

There's been a trend towards what can only be called "Blogger Consolidation" in the hockey blogosphere: The Hockey News, your site, FanHouse to a degree, Oilersnation and a few others have grouped together writers who run their own sites under one umbrella. Is this now the trend, going forward?

It might work that way. But I've always stayed true to the sense where we're all fans first. That's how I look at it.

There's things like MVN and the Bleacher Report, but I don't want to turn into that. Those are just people commenting away, and unfortunately I've heard radio stations here in Detroit quote the Bleacher Report. "The Bleacher Report reports ..." What the heck? It's Joe Schmo, writing a blog!

I want people to realize they can come to us for all different kinds of stories, plus the latest hockey news around the world.

Was there any concern about opinion pieces gumming up the works for what makes your site such a must-read for people: An amazing collection of news headlines from all corners of the Earth?

No, not really. I just did what I felt was right, and let [the bloggers] do their own thing. It was just "keep doing what you're doing, guys."

In the next several months, is there anything else you're looking to add?

Not really. But I do hope it attracts some advertisers and direct advertising. I think it's about time some of the hockey blogs start attracting advertisers like Reebok, Easton ... those type of deals. Why not? Their audience is already there.

They don't get it yet. They don't get it at all. They're going to be seen. They've already got their market, and can talk to them on a hockey site.

From a design aspect, what were your thoughts on the way the front page looks right now?

We wanted to get as much as we could on the front page, but not make it look like it's too much information. A really good feature is the addition of the last three posts from every blogger [on the sidebar].

I tried to make the ads non-intrusive. I don't have those flashing things that appear on the screen and pop up all over the place. We try to centralize it so there's only one ad in the reading area.

Was there any concern in the redesign of the thing? There was a certain simplistic joy in the "old newspaper"/Drudge Report/less is more feel.

I'm pretty happy with it. You're going to have people saying the font is too small, or can we do this. But the vast, vast majority of the comments have been super. We could have made it a lot more 2.0-ish. But I don't think my readers want that. They want basic and simple, and we want to keep it that way.

Of course, as a Devils fan, I'm a huge proponent of the new red, white and black color scheme. But I'm sure you'll claim it has something to do with your Red Wings.

We actually had more red in the [original] redesign! But we didn't want people thinking it was just a Red Wings site.

Finally, what are your thoughts for the season? As a Detroit Red Wings fan, you must be close to ecstasy right now.

Things can always change. It's about who stays healthy, and who's healthy in the playoffs. That's the important thing these days, because the depth isn't there for anybody. Although the Wings do have some depth; I'd expect a trade to be made in the preseason or early in the season to get rid of a defenseman or maybe even a forward, too.

Is there a team that's going to give your site some of the best storylines this season?

I hate to say it, but I think it's going to be Tampa. Unless they really come out of the chute badly.

And there's been a lot of positive talk about the Blackhawks. But they're in a tough division, and if they don't start out right there's going to be problems, too.

I still don't think they're going to make the playoffs. I think they have a little bit more growing to do.