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Wednesday, November 10, 1999
A Dog-gone good sub
Shtalenkov one Coyote havin' fun in desert
LOS ANGELES - Mikhail Shtalenkov has been an excellent replacement for disgruntled and unsigned Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who everyone knows is the top dog.
Shtalenkov doesn't even refute that fact.
"I want to keep playing, but they will sign Nikolai," the former Oilers netminder recently told the Arizona Republic. "I turned 34 a couple of weeks ago and Nikki's what, 26?
"He'll carry this team maybe another 10 years. He's real good and he's been a workhorse for this team. I want to play another three years and I will fight for it."
Shtalenkov was named player of the month for October for his 7-2-2 start. The honour startled the Coyotes current No. 1 man.
"It's great news, but also very surprising. I wasn't thinking about it because I've never even been the player of the week, so being player of the month is nice."
Of course, hockey fans in Edmonton are just waiting for him to falter. He did have a good start as an Oiler last season as well, but don't forget he had little offensive support.
Shtalenkov's record is now 7-4-2 after the Coyotes gave up six goals in back-to-back losses, dropping a 6-3 result to San Jose (despite outshooting the Sharks 40-20) and a 6-4 setback to Dallas (blowing a 3-1 lead). One of the goals was an empty-netter.
HUNGRY DOGS: The Coyotes have been sitting back for five days waiting for the Oilers, who played last night in L.A. and are suiting up for their third in four nights tonight.
Phoenix only took one day off, however. That was for Monday's Goals for Kids golf tournament that raised $63,000. To date the annual affair has helped raise roughly $1.5 million for the charity.
RELIEVED BUNCH: Coyotes captain Keith Tkachuk breathed a large sigh of relief after the recent vote that approved funding for the Los Arcos arena project.
"I'm ecstatic," he told the Arizona Republic. "I won't lie to you. This has been on my mind for a long time. A lot of us have been thinking about it. There's no way you can't.
"If it doesn't go through, you're wondering where do you stand as one of the guys who make a lot of money. Where does the owner stand? There's a lot of questions that have been bugging a lot of guys."
How tense were those players?
"If it doesn't pass? I'll probably put my house up for sale and get ready to move," said Jeremy Roenick the morning of the vote.
FREE UP SOME CASH: The yes vote was supposed to expedite a new deal for Khabibulin, who turned down a three-year $9M offer from the Coyotes, but there is still no word on a new contract.
Khabibulin, Boris Mironov and Keith Primeau are the remaining unsigned restricted free agents holding out.
Yesterday, the L.A. Times suggested the Kings may be interested in Primeau.
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