A U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge approved the sale of the Kings
for $113.5M to Phillip Anschutz and Edward Roski yesterday. "All
parties involved" are working to close the deal by Tuesday (L.A.
TIMES, 10/6)....Tonight's Avalanche opener sold out in 21 minutes
(USA TODAY, 10/6)....The Panthers' struggles are examined by
David Neal of the MIAMI HERALD. "Despite playing to 97 percent
capacity, rising salaries and a lack of other significant revenue
streams have caused the Panthers to operate in a red deeper than
their road uniforms" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/5)....The Senators,
"barring a later surge in ticket sales," will likely not sell out
their home opener at the 10,575-seat Civic Centre. The team,
which moves to the new 18-500 seat Palladium in January, is only
averaging 8,300 tickets sold per game for the new arena (OTTAWA
CITIZEN, 10/6)....NHL VP of Public Relations Arthur Pincus denied
a report in yesterday's Vancouver PROVINCE that NHL VP of Hockey
Ops Brian Burke is headed to join a new Minnesota franchise as
President & COO. Pincus called the rumors "way off." According
to Pincus, Burke has recently signed a contract extension with
the league for at least two years (THE DAILY).
