They've already dispatched one Bure brother, sending the highly talented but enigmatic Pavel on his way to the New York Rangers last March.

Now, they're losing patience with another one.

	CHIRPIN'
	"I should have known not to do that, just to chip (the puck) in deep. But I know one thing. You'll never see me make a play like that again." -- Toronto forward Tom Fitzgerald, whose giveaway in the second period against the Rangers on Tuesday resulted in a two-on-none break and a Matthew Barnaby goal. The Rangers went on to win 5-4.
	THE NUMBER
	246 Power-play goals scored by Tampa Bay's Dave Andreychuk after scoring against Carolina last week. He needs three more to tie Phil Esposito's record.
	WHO'S HOT
	The line of Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi and John LeClair racked up 21 points in three games. In their first full game together -- against Montreal -- they tallied a total of 10 points on the way to a 6-2 victory.
	WHO'S NOT
	The Hurricanes' team defense. Carolina, which took such pride it in last year on the way to its surprising run to the finals, has given up 14 goals in four games.
	THIS WEEK'S SIGN ...
	... the Earth is off its axis: Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican served six minutes in the penalty box during Saturday's game against Tampa Bay but wasn't even called for an infraction. The penalty timekeeper was the one who informed Hedican, who was sandwiched in with six teammates, that his presence there was in error.

Valeri Bure, a right wing with the Florida Panthers, who acquired him from Calgary on June 24, 2001, in part because of Pavel's presence, hasn't impressed coach Mike Keenan with his lackluster effort.

Keenan benched Bure in the first period against Minnesota on Tuesday night after Bure lazily flipped the puck while killing a penalty, allowing the Wild to regain possession and prevent the Panthers from getting a line change.

"Valeri, again, just didn't want to do what the coaches asked him to do," Keenan said, adding that the younger Bure brother was one of a few of his players who "don't know how to prepare as professionals."

Bure didn't necessarily agree with that assessment of himself or any of his teammates.

"If he feels that way ...," Bure said, "I don't even know what to say."

Bure, who was back in the lineup on Thursday in a loss to Chicago, has only one point in the team's first four games.

Ticket or leave it?
Despite the team's regular-season success -- two first-place division finishes, one second place and one third in the last four years -- it's still a struggle for the Ottawa Senators to sell tickets. An uncertain economy hasn't helped matters.

So it was interesting to see that some of the players are considering chipping in to buy a block of season tickets in order to help out the club's coffers. They'd give the ducats away to charity. Nice idea, but if the prices of tickets keep going up, it may get to the point where players are the only ones who can afford them.

Here's a thought: How about instead of buying the tickets, they give up some of their salary to supplement the introduction of a less-expensive ticket category so real fans would have a chance to go to games without breaking the bank.

It's a weird trend -- former players becoming owners, now players buying season tickets. You have to wonder what that means for the expiration of the collective-bargaining agreement in 2004. The current system isn't working, folks.

Eminger earns a look
The Washington Capitals have taken an interesting approach to the development of 18-year-old defenseman Steve Eminger.

Eminger was taken at No. 12 overall in last June's draft, and it appeared an obvious move to send him back to his junior team in Kitchener and let him play a couple of more years there. But management, in concert with coach Bruce Cassidy, decided to keep him around because he earned a spot. He's playing about 10 minutes a game paired with veteran Calle Johansson.

In addition, assistant coach Randy Carlyle, who won the Norris Trophy in 1981 while with Pittsburgh, has provided an on-ice classroom for Eminger. If Eminger remains with the Caps the entire season, it would mark the first time since the 1982-83 season that an 18-year-old blueliner has played a whole year with that franchise. The last? A little-known guy named Scott Stevens.

Fast start for Fedotenko
When Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster dealt the No. 4 overall pick in the NHL draft to Philadelphia for 23-year-old left wing Ruslan Fedotenko and a couple of second-round picks, some people wondered what he was thinking.

It's early in the season, but Fedotenko is on his way to doing what Feaster thought he could -- score 20-25 goals this season. Fedotenko, who tallied two goals against Carolina in a 5-1 victory, is playing on a line with center Vincent Lecavalier and right wing Martin St. Louis.

"People can criticize the move all they want," said Feaster. "But whomever we drafted at that spot was not going to play for us and wouldn't have made a difference if he did."

The depth chart