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| | Wednesday, October 20 | ||||||
As the NHL Plyers Association and the league office prepare to dig trenches, things could get ugly over Alexei Yashin's status if he holds out for the whole season.
Who will fill some of the void left by Yashin's absence? Rumblings out of Ottawa are that unrestricted free agent Joe Juneau might be the guy. According to the Ottawa Sun, Juneau, 31, is demanding a deal worth $2.2 million per season. He reportedly turned down a $1.5 million, one-year offer from the Montreal Canadiens last month. Juneau's price tag seems high for the Sens, but if Radek Bonk cools off, it may start looking more reasonable. Empty seats, wallets in Calgary More negative financial news for Canadian franchises seems to leak out each week. Last week, it was the Senators possibly being sold because of Ontario's decision against using the lottery to subsidize NHL teams. This time, it's the Calgary Flames with some not-too-encouraging attendance figures. The last three home games have drawn an average of a little more than 13,000 per contest, which isn't good for a city where the game is so popular. What makes the number even more troubling is the fact Calgary's average ticket price of $49.43 is well below the league average of $67.36. Savage off to ravenous start It's difficult to take too much stock in early season statistics and results, especially as it pertains to Montreal's Brian Savage. Savage has eight goals and 12 points in eight games. But he has a history of fast starts ... and slow endings. After notching 10 goals in the first 10 games of the 1995-96 season -- and 18 in 21 games -- Savage only scored 15 in the remaining 65 games. Shields earns player of the week honors San Jose Sharks goaltender Steve Shields was named NHL player of the week for the period of Oct. 11 through Sunday. In three wins last week, Shields had a 0.83 GAA and a .979 save percentage. Currently, Shields leads all NHL goalies with five wins (5-1-0) and a .961 save percentage. | ALSO SEE NHL Power Rankings
Weekly Faceoff: Find out if Sharks are legit
The Minors: Isles' Luongo worthy of pick
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