HEATLEY TO SAN JOSE FOR MICHALEK, CHEECHOO AND A 2ND

According to TSN, done deal. Analysis coming. Michlek is a stud, but Cheechoo is the Penner. Michalek makes $4.3M and Cheechoo is $3M, so this saves less than 200K. Curious to see if Murray can go and get a defenceman now of equal salary via trade, like Anton Babchuk.

Also, let's start thinking about forward lines!

Trade winds blowing at SBP

Booboo says trade could be this afternoon. Check the Ottawa Sun for more. Dreger's twitter said Chicago and SJ are frontrunners.

Let's Get Physical! Plus, Jarret Stoll is hurt

Just a short one this morning for a shout out to the opening of training camp. Players are in for physicals today and will hit the ice Sunday. Sadly, though, the boys at the Sun will focus 100% on how the Heatley meetings go with his teammates. On the bright side, since the media probably won't be able to find a new line of questioning about the same topic, maybe they can burn off these questions in September and October will be lighter for them. I know that's wishful thinking, but I'd rather the players and Heatley face the music this week and next and then we can all focus on hockey come October 3rd.

In another story, Matthew Berry says Jarret Stoll has awful arthritis that is very much affecting his ability to play. He's on medication to manage this, but it is still news that we didn't know a few days ago when we all thought Stoll was a Senator. I certainly wish the best for the guy as it is a shame to see a young hockey player affected by this. On the other hand, and I hate to be the insensitive one here, it absolutely changes his trade value. Lucky for us, Dean Lombardi called the trade rumour 'total bull'.

Back to the Sens - here's to a terrific and competitive training camp that produces a great team and a great season! God Bless the return of Senators hockey!

Murray denies three-way trade with Kings and Sharks

One more update at 10:17 - Dean Lombardi reached out to Bucci and said "it is total bull". I guess that's a no. So Heatley will skip the golf tournament so as to not create a distraction, but it we can all take a breath and get used to him being here on Saturday for physicals.

(Update at 10:08) Even though the GMs deny the trade, NHL.com still thought enough of it to post it, as well. Garrioch is getting all kinds of street cred tonight. I mean, the trade hasn't happened, but his story from 24 hours ago is getting picked up across the US now. Now if only the trade would actually happen, and perhaps the Sharks could throw a pick our way, too.

I started thinking about this a bit more and it isn't as bad as I originally thought. Considering we had kinda come to terms with the Edmonton trade return, we're not far off. Stoll is far more useful to us than Penner, in my opinion. Good competitor, no worries about him being fat, etc. Frolov has more potential than Cogliano. Cogs is good, but small. Frolov has consistency issues but solid hands and is on the verge of a 60 point season. What we're missing is the Smid piece. Can we get a top prospect like a Teubert? Or a bubble player from SJ?

One othe guy that interests me is Carolina's Anton Babchuk who is absolutely about to be traded after turning down a $1M qualifying offer. He's a 6'5" defenceman with a howitzer of a shot, but perhaps he has dressing room issues as he's been said to be unhappy there for a while. Not sure if he's a good guy in a logjam, or he's a problem player we don't need.

Update, sort of (9:55pm): Stoll is signed for three more years at a cap hit of $3.6M, Frolov is signed for just this year at $2.9M. Combined, they are good for $6.5M. If this deal happens, it sure would be nice to know if Frolov is re-signing, eh?

For those following their Internet tonight, ESPN's hockey analyst and friend to Another Sens Blog, John Buccigross, is citing sources saying the deal is done. Kudos to the guys at www.the6thsens.com for spotting this on the wire.

Murray has vehemently denied this, saying only that he's talked to a few teams today but that no deal is close. So what is going to give on this? I know I'm biased for Bucci because he's a cool dude, but would he print that the deal has been made when it is in fact nowhere close? Or is Murray just watching his words now while they wait on both Heatley and Marleau to waive no-trade clauses? Don't forget, Marleau still needs to bless this and folks, LA is not that close to San Jose. The benefit for him would be that he's going to have to leave SJ either now or next summer as a free agent. Given that, why not catch on with an up and coming Kings team and settle in as the #2 centre behind Kopitar for the foreseeable future? They have a much brighter outlook than his Sharks!

But we're getting ahead of ourselves again. Let's see if Murray is just being cautious or if Bucci is jumping the gun.

The Final Hours - Some Final Thoughts

As per Duff's note below, the hours before camp are dwindling and we're left with a final rumour that nobody seems to like. Personally, I don't like rumours. I hear enough of them every day and rarely are they ever true. Everyone has a 'solid source', which may be true, but in that case these sources are mostly wrong. I guess it's a 'boy calling wolf' syndrome, but I digress.

The benefit of rumours is that they spark discussion, debate and deliberation (and alliteration, apparently). The latter is where I'm eventually going...

We all fear there's truth to this (rumoured) deal (for the sake of this, let's say it's a legit option) and immediately poo-poo it as awful. Correct? Stoll and Frolov (Stolov?) is not a reasonable return for Heatley. Correct. BUT, we're overlooking a key piece to this deal. Not only would we get Stolov, but perhaps more importantly we lose Heatley.

Like almost everyone else, I'm swallowing my early summer words and realizing he will likely suit up for Ottawa this year. I'm coming to terms with it and looking on the bright side. "This gives us two balances scoring lines!", "He can't dog it cause he's poised to make Team Canada", and the optimism goes on. But at the end of the day, I think about his presence in the room and how it'll affect the team, I think of the media/fans ripping him a new one, and the distraction that will cause to the team. These issues are inevitable poisons that will bring us down.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope Dany comes out and says "I was brainwashed. I'm sorry. My agents are fired and I'm donating half my salary to Ottawa Minor Hockey and CHEO. I love Ottawa, the fans, the SBP, Clouston, Beavertails and the Museum of Science and Tech. Alfie is my hero and the fans my inspiration. I'll win you the Cup."

But that ain't gonna happen.

So, the Stolov deal (now I kinda hope this deal is true just for the name) looks unfair on paper BUT could be extremely beneficial long term.


Put on your General Manager hat. If you were GM for a day, would you take a deal like this just to unload Heatley from the dressing room? Or is Heatley too important of a hockey player that you rather have him on opening day than a couple of second liners with one playoff series between the two?

The Final Hours - Terrible Trade Coming?

Start calling him Bruce 'Marleau to the Kings' Garrioch, as Booboo has heard rumblings of a three-way deal that involves Stoll and Frolov to Ottawa, Heatley to the Sharks, and Marleau to the Kings. No confirmation from Murray, even though it sounds like Garrioch has been joined at the hip with him throughout the entire rookie tournament. Murray said he talked to a few teams Tuesday and didn't hear back from anyone Wednesday, thus is expecting Heater in Kanata on Friday for golf.

So at one moment, we're being told that trade talks are as dry as the desert and Heatley has his bags packed for YOW. The next moment, we're hearing this three-way deal might keep everyone happy, since Marleau can waive his NTC and just drive down the coast to SoCal (instead of having to move East). This is one of the only trades that would actually have fans wishing we could have gotten Dustin Penner! Frolov is Alex Kovalev Lite and Stoll is the runaway groom. At least Comrie is still with his hollywood girlfriend!

On a side note, I was talking with a buddy tonight about how badly the publicity of this trade request hurt the actual trade return. The scenario we came up was, what if you woke up one day in early June and read that Dany Heatley the happy Senator had been traded to Edmonton for Penner, Cogliano, and Smid. You would honestly flip out. You'd burn down the arena! Am I wrong?

Garrioch went on to get a pretty good Q&A with Murray on a few topics. Nothing groundbreaking, but reading through it, I found myself getting really excited about this season. Even if Heatley is here, I'm pumped about Pascal and the offensive blueliners and Spezza. The article seems to be that whole 'the summer is over and the ice is ready' kind of thing. The first preseason game is less than a week away!

I'm personally at a point now where I just want to see hockey again. If #15 laces up for us and the players accept him back in the room, then we move on. Who isn't so exasperated with this that they've put their hurt feelings aside? Sure, Heatley will have a tough time with fans and the Ottawa Sun writers, but he's a professional and they'll be just fine on the ice. If Heatley does miraculously get traded in the next few days, then we get some new bodies in the room and all the more reason to be excited.

Seriously, is there anyone out there whose anger over Heatley is still greater than their excitement at just getting back to hockey?