Wednesday, 9:50 p.m., ET
Just got off the phone with Heatley’s agent, J.P. Barry Here’s the deal:
Oilers GM Steve Tambellini and President of Hockey Operations Kevin Lowe are in Kelowna now, meeting with Heatley. Turns out owner Daryl Katz did not make the trip, but both Tambellini and Lowe have ties with Heatley through Hockey Canada.
Barry is upset because, in demanding a trade from the Senators, he feels Sens GM Bryan Murray has not worked hard enough to present his client with trade options. The Oilers deal is the only real trade that Murray has cobbled together, and that was foisted upon Heatley on Tuesday night, with a perceived deadline of midnight last night for the $4 million bonus due Heatley.
"Now, he’s back in that same pressure situation," Barry said of his client. "Edmonton is the only option that has been presented to us, and you can’t tell that there aren’t more.
"Dany is going to sit down with Steve and Kevin. He has an open mind. They’re both great people. And then he’ll have to decide."
Decide one of three things: Waive his no-trade, and go to Edmonton; refuse to waive, and remain Ottawa property, or ask for more time. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, 9:12 p.m. ET
Sounding more and more like Dany Heatley is coming to grips with a move to the Northwest Division and Edmonton.
"Last night Dany did not have enough time to evaluate the one option that was placed in front of him," agent J.P. Barry told Sun media’s Bruce Garrioch. "He hoped he would be presented with more options. He was not. We believed the deadline wasn’t last night.
"Dany has taken the time today to talk to the Oilers and several people in the organization from the top down. I hope he’ll be able to make a decision, but I’m not sure."
One person he talked to is the guy who would be his centreman in Edmonton, Oilers assistant captain Shawn Horcoff.
"I’ve played with him at three Worlds [Championships], I played against him in college. We’ve known each other for a long time," Horcoff said from his summer home in Michigan. "Dany is from Calgary – he knows Edmonton. We talked, not as much about the trade, but just about his situation, as friends.
"I’m like everyone else," Horcoff said. "I’m waiting, and I hope we get him. Let’s face it: 50 goal scorers don’t come around very often."
Oilers owner Daryl Katz and GM Steve Tambellini are on their way to Kelowna to meet with Heatley, leading one to believe they are aiming to welcome him to the Oilers’ fold.
Wednesday, 8:35 p.m. ET
Now Montreal signs Brian Gionta for five years at $25 million! Yikes – what a 48 hours Habs GM Bob Gainey has had, trading for Scott Gomez, then signing Mike Cammalleri, Jaroslav Spacek, Hal Gill and now the pint-sized former New Jersey Devil Gionta.
And there had better be no buyer’s remorse, because the Habs are married to this latest free agent binge for longer than the life of most head coaches, that’s for sure.
Gomez, a trade with New York, has five years left on his deal ($7.36 million cap hit). Cammalleri is five years, $6 million. Gill is two years, $2.25. Spacek is four years, $3.83 million. Throw in Gionta, and that’s $24.4 million in cap space for five guys.
That’s nearly $112 million spent by Gainey inside two days.
Are the Canadiens a better team today? Well, they did not accomplish their goal of getting bigger up the middle. In fact, with Cammalleri, Gionta and Gomez, one of hockey’s smallest teams may have gotten even smaller.
On the blue-line, they lost their best D-man in Mike Komisarek, who signed in Toronto. Spacek and Gill are nice additions, but for all that money, the term "sideways" comes to mind when grading what all these moves did for the Canadiens.
Wednesday, 8:27 p.m. ET
The New York Rangers have signed Marian Gaborik, a deal that will see him earn $37.5 million over five years.
That could mean two things for a pair of Canadian teams waiting the resolution of the Dany Heatley trade.
Most likely, that takes the Rangers out of contention for Heatley, now that they’ve dropped a boat load of cap space to acquire the player some people thought was the prize of this UFA season. That means the Heatley camp, which was awaiting the Rangers activity today, will inform agent J.P. Barry that his choices are down to Ottawa and Edmonton.
Or, this scenario: The Rangers convince Senators GM Bryan Murray to take both defenceman Michal Rozsival and winger Alexei Zherdev, clearing up nearly as much cap room a Heatley would require. Then New York acquires Heatley to play alongside Gaborik.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. ET
It’s like the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs are challenging the two Alberta teams to see who can make the most noise today, and right now, the East is ahead.
GM Brian Burke has furthered his rebuild greatly today, most recently landing tough D-man Mike Komisarek on a five-year, $22.5 million deal. Then, he traded Pavel Kubina and Tim Stapleton to Atlanta, bringing in Colin Stuart and Garnet Exelby.
Exelby, the prior acquisition of Colton Orr, and Komisarek all leave the Leafs bigger and tougher to play against. Burke loses skill in Kubina however, even if it was overpaid skill, a contract left over from the John Ferguson Jr. days.
Burke failed in his bid to land the Sedin twins, despite a surprise trip to Stockholm that was fruitless. He missed out on Mattias Ohlund as well, and Mike Cammalleri. But Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The foundation is greatly improved in Toronto, and when you build a great building, you always have to start by digging the basement, not building the penthouse.
Wednesday, 5:27 p.m. ET
Bob Gainey gets Mike Cammalleri, a five-year, $30 million deal. The rebuild of the Canadiens is well underway, with Scott Gomez and Cammalleri both in long-term, and two defencemen also signed in Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek.
Spacek has signed a three-year, $11.5-million contract while Gill will earn $4.5 million over two years. It’s a facelift that the Habs GM Gainey knew had to be undertaken, and what better time than this summer, when the Canadiens had a ton of cap room to work with?
It will be strange to see a Habs team without Saku Koivu, and Mike Komisarek is one of the many good defencemen who are still out there. UFA’s who remain unsigned are Niclas Havelid, Adrian Aucoin, Sergei Zubov, Rob Scuderi, Francois Beauchemin (who is reportedly receiving offers in the $4.5 million annual range), Derek Morris and Nick Boynton, among many others.
Plus Marian Gaborik and Martin Havlat. Mats Sundin is also out there.
Wednesday, 4:06 p.m. ET
The Oilers have goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, something that comes as a major surprise.
Nick Kypreos reports it is a four-year, $15 million deal, so Edmonton gets the goalie they so badly needed. And, the Oilers are still in the Heatley deal. If they can resurrect that trade, it could be a fertile 24 hours for GM Steve Tambellini.
Wednesday, 4:06 p.m. ET
The Oilers have goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, something that comes as a major surprise.
Nick Kypreos reports it is a four-year, $15 million deal, so Edmonton gets the goalie they so badly needed. And, the Oilers are still in the Heatley deal. If they can resurrect that trade, it could be a fertile 24 hours for GM Steve Tambellini.
Wednesday, 3:10 p.m. ET
Dwayne Roloson found the two-year deal he sought in the Island, signing with the New York Islanders for two years and $5 million.
There is no way Nikolai Khabibulin signs in Edmonton, we say. So what other free agent goalies are out there for the desperate Oilers? A Martin Biron? A Scott Clemmensen, so young Jeff Deslauriers can get in 35 games or more?
Is the deal to pull backup Josh Harding our of Minnesota completely out of reach? Stay tuned.
Wednesday, 2:45 pm ET
"No news, Mark," was the message from Oilers GM Steve Tambellini, when we asked him if the Heatley offer was still on the table, or if the Heatley camp had made any decisions.
So, Heatley is still in limbo. Somewhere between a rock [Sens fans] and a hard place [Oilers fans].
And a pair of dressing rooms that are both going to be tough to make peace in. No wonder his agents are feverishly trying to broker a deal elsewhere. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, 2:21 p.m. ET
The Blackhawks doubled up on former Red Wings, adding centreman Tomas Kopecky as well. That’s two players who have spent ample time in a winning Detroit dressing room, who GM Dale Tallon hopes can spread some of that experience around a young Chicago team.
“To add Marian [Hossa], an elite and world-class player, and Tomas, a Stanley Cup Champion, to our exciting young core reinforces our commitment to try to win the Stanley Cup,” Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon said in a statement.
Wednesday 2:10 p.m. ET
Marian Hossa has signed a 12-year deal in Chicago worth $5.3 million on average.
Roger Millions sniffs out that the Flames may be looking at Colorado UFA Ian Laperriere. There has been a long history of trading between the two Divisional rivals, and Laperriere fits the mould in Calgary.
Ottawa and Edmonton, meanwhile, are all quiet after their debacle last night. No word from the Heatley camp yet on where they stand. They are undoubtedly trying to broker their own deal to somewhere other than Edmonton — likely New York — a tactic that very, very few agents find success at.
Wednesday, 2 p.m. ET
Not quote done yet, but along with the Hockeycentral guys, we’re hearing Marian Hossa to Chicago. That would more than compensate for the loss of Martin Havlat, who could be L.A. bound.
Also, ESPN.com is reporting the Maple Leafs and Thrashers are in talks over a deal that would send Pavel Kubina to Atlanta. Of course, the Thrashers were interested in Tomas Kaberle at the draft, while Brian Burke continues to try to shed salary and veteran players as he reshapes the Toronto roster.
Wednesday, 1:43 p.m. ET
Goalie Craig Anderson has signed a two-year, $3.6 million deal with Colorado.
The Avs were one of the top contenders in the goaltending market, and grab what could be a savvy pick up if this 28-year-old late bloomer from Park Ridge, Illinois continues to improve.
He posted good numbers — .924 saves percentage and 2.71 goals against average — for a bad team in Florida this last season. With Peter Budaj moving to a backup role, Anderson can play 55 or 60 games for the Avs, for a relatively cheap cap hit.
What does that mean for Nikolai Khabibulin? It takes one team out of the mix to either sign him as a UFA, or take Cristobal Huet in a trade so that Khabibulin can re-sign with the Blackhawks.
And what of Dwayne Roloson? He is still unsigned, receiving only a one-year overture from Edmonton.
Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. ET
Two imminent signing that have come to Sportsnet’s attention:
The Montreal Canadiens are close to getting Alexei Kovalev’s signature on a two-year deal worth $9 million, and the Toronto Maple Leafs have already signed former Rangers tough guy Colton Orr. We’re hearing it is a four-year, $4 million deal.
Also, the Toronto Star reports that Toronto GM Brian Burke was on a flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm, where he planned to woo first the Sedin twins, then defenceman Mattias Ohlund, when the Sedins re-signed in Vancouver.
Shortly after he landed, Ohlund was gone to Tampa.
Nice try, Brian. You can fly home now.
Wednesday, 12:50 p.m. ET
All is quiet on the Western front, with Tampa Bay making the first splash by signing defenceman Mattias Ohlund to the first outrageous contract of the day. He signed a seven-year deal with a cap hit of $3.75 per season, and a guy who was a loyal soldier for the Canucks since they drafted him 13th overall back in ’94 moves East.
That’s seven years for a player who turns 33 this September, with considerable mileage and knee injuries on his odometer. Signing Ohlund isn’t a bad idea for a team as decimated on the blue-line as Tampa is. But signing him until he’s 39?
What is Ohlund going to have left in four years? Let alone seven?
Wednesday, 11:53 a.m. ET
USA Today reporting that the Leafs are looking at Chris Neil, which makes a lot of sense if you know the type of team GM Brian Burke wants to build. Neil will add character and toughness to the Leafs, who lack in both.
That paper also reports that the Buffalo Sabres are interested in Erik Cole and winger Brian Gionta.
Personally, we think the Erik Cole the Sabres would be getting today is nowhere near the one we picture in our heads when we think of Cole. He’s lost a step, and that will to drive hard to the net that made him such a valuable player in his prime.
Gionta is looking more like a 25-goal man, rather than the 48 he scored three seasons ago in New Jersey. At 5-7, a bigger team can take him on. But if, like Montreal, your lineup is full of smurfs already, you’d likely avoid Gionta.
Wednesday, 11:45 a.m. ET
The official numbers on Jay Bouwmeester’s deal in Calgary, for you cap enthusiasts:
The annual cap hit is $6.68 million, higher than every Flames player except Jarome Iginla at $7 million.
Bouwmeester will make $7 million in Year 1 of the deal — only Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff will earn more, at $7 million each. Then he’ll make $6.6 million for the final four years of the deal.
In the end, the deal is very close to Dion Phanuef’s contract, which averages $6.5 million per season.
Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. ET
We never thought Jay Bouwmeester would sign in Calgary before noon ET on Wednesday, nor did we believe that Brent Sutter would leave New Jersey to coach this season in Calgary.
But the Sedins in Vancouver was a prediction that seemed obvious all along.
Two good players who are a lock for 80 points per year, who like to play in Vancouver, and who proved this past spring that they can produce in the playoffs. Why wouldn’t there be a deal to be made between the Sedins and the Canucks?
Now that they’ve signed five-year, $6.1 million deals, the free agent market can begin to fall into place for noon eastern. The L.A. Kings and New York Rangers can take their run at one of the two Marians — Hossa or Gaborik.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can shift their focus from the Sedins to somewhere else — maybe Martin Havlat — and Washington can get to work on Mike Cammalleri, with Vancouver also in pursuit.
And the Canucks have two good players to continue to build around. Why anyone ever thought otherwise seems crazy now, doesn’t it?
Wednesday, 11:15 a.m. ET
An Eastern Conference scout whose team was in the running for Heatley weighs in on the Dany Heatley situation with this point:
“Clearly, Ottawa was willing to take less to ship Heatley to the West. They wanted young, potential stars from Eastern teams. [Andrew] Cogliano is a good player, but they’re taking salary back with [Dustin] Penner.”
That means the bar has been lowered now that everyone knows what the Oilers offer was. Maybe the Rangers CAN unload overpaid defenceman Michal Rozsival after all in this deal.
“Steve Tambellini must be livid that the names came out in this deal,” said the scout.
You can look Andrew Cogliano in the eye if you’re the Oilers GM and say, “Son, you have to give up a god player to get a 50-goal scorer, and you’re that good player. We meant no disrespect.”
But Penner? What are you going to say to him?
“Well, Dustin, we tried to dump your enormous contract. But looks like we’ll have to keep on pitching.”
Tuesday, 8:40 p.m. ET
Well, that’s how much we know.
Who would have thought Jay Bouwmeester would sign in Calgary, before fielding offers from across the National Hockey League? Not me, that’s for sure.
But, if the numbers we’re hearing are correct — five years with an annual cap hit of $6.6 million — he wasn’t going to make significantly more elsewhere anyhow. And don’t forget: Alberta has no provincial sales tax, the lowest provincial tax rate in Canada, and he’ll be earning US bucks while living in Canada.
All of those are major factors that worked in Calgary’s favour. Plus the rumour that Bouwmeester has a girl there as well.
So, now we find out if Flames GM Darryl Sutter has taken to heart the fact that his team went in the sewer when defenceman Robyn Regehr went down with an injury late in the season.
Has he picked up Bouwmeester so the Flames can always have two studs on the blue-line, even if one of Dion Phaneuf, Regehr or Bouwmeester is felled by an injury. Or, is Phaneuf on his way out of town — perhaps to Ottawa for Dany Heatley.
Well, we haven’t been right much lately — I predicted Brent Sutter would NOT leave New Jersey to coach the Flames — but the Darryl Sutter we know makes us believe he will hold on to all three defencemen, as long as he can afford to.
That means no Mike Cammalleri, certainly, and a workmanlike, low-scoring Flames team that will try and beat you 2.3 to 1.5 every night of the season.
Just like the team that last went to a Stanley Cup in Calgary.
Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. ET
Sportsnet’s Mike Brophy reports that if the Flyers don’t re-sign Mike Knuble, they will be looking for a veteran centre to replace him. Perhaps a Glen Metropolit [Montreal UFA], Sammy Pahlsson [Chicago UFA] or Jim Dowd (Philly UFA]. What about the younger version in New York’s Blair Betts, who took the third most faceoffs last season for the Rangers, coming in at 49.3%?
Personally, we like Pahlsson best of all. He was hurt in the playoffs for Chicago this spring, but is a very good third-line, penalty killing centre. Always reminded me of Ulf Dahlen — a quiet member of a good team.
Also, Broph says Philly wants to save on their backup goalie, thinking Antero Niittymaki’s $1.23 cap hit is too high. They are looking at Ty Conklin and Scott Clemmenson.
Tuesday, 5:45 p.m. ET
Caught up with Jay Grossman, agent to Nikolai Khabibulin. He’s still talking with Chicago GM Dale Tallon about a new deal for the ‘Bulin Wall, but wasn’t giving up much on Tuesday afternoon.
“We have, what, 18-and-a-half hours until free agency begins? Grossman said. “We met at the draft, and have had open lines of communication since. Whether we can do something remains to be seen.”
Tallon’s problem is simple: Khabibulin is the guy he wants between the pipes next season, but he’s got Cristobal Huet signed for three more years with a cap hit of $5.625 million. We would think Tallon is testing the trade waters for Huet, which would mean talking to the two clubs most desperate for goaltending — Colorado and Edmonton.
But would any GM in his right mind relieve Tallon of Huet at those dollars? Maybe if he threw in an Adam Burish, Ben Eager or Andrew Ladd. With Tallon’s cap situation, he won’t be able to suck up a big contract coming back, but he could swap some draft picks to make room for Khabibulin.
Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. ET
Smart move by Canadiens GM Bob Gainey, bringing in what he hopes will be a major piece of the puzzle before heading into the free agent market on Wednesday.
Scott Gomez becomes a Canadien in return for Chris Higgins. The prospects include Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and Doug Janik heading to New York, with Tom Pyatt and Michael Busto coming to Montreal.
Gomez comes with a huge number however — a $7.36 million cap hit — and he has averaged just 16 goals and 64 points in his two seasons with New York. Glen Sather will be thankful to Gainey for opening up that much cap room. Higgins’s cap hit is just $1.7 million.
So the rebuild in Montreal has officially begun, kicked off by relieving the Rangers of what has come to be known as a bad contract. Hopefully, in a year’s time, Canadiens fans won’t be looking at it the same way.
Tuesday, 3:45 p..m. ET
Montreal Canadiens defenceman Mike Komisarek is heading for UFA status, it was announced in a statement from his agent, Matt Keator.
“After much discussion and thought, Mike Komisarek has decided to enter the free-agent market tomorrow at noon. Should they desire, we intend to keep Montreal involved in the process as they have treated Mike so well during his time in the organization. He remains interested in re-signing with them.”
Not interested enough to get a deal done prior to the deadline, however.
If they lose Komisarek it will be a blow to Montreal. Expect some action from Vancouver, who will be saying goodbye to Mattias Ohlund, and one would think Toronto would show interest as well.
Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. ET:
The Carolina Hurricanes are waving goodbye to Erik Cole and Chad LaRose.
“Not optimistic,” GM Jim Rutherford said on the CarolinaHurricanes.com, adding that no meetings were scheduled for negotiations prior to the end of Tuesday.
“If they go into tomorrow then they’re obviously making the choice to go somewhere else,” he said. “We’ve given our best offer within our budget to try to keep them, and at this point it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.”
Erik Cole simply isn’t the player he once was, at age 30. He’s run out of gas, with just five assists and no goals in 18 playoff games for the ‘Canes this spring.
The small forward Larose is only 27, and did have 19 goals to go alongside 31 points and a plus-6 rating this season. He had 4-7-11 in 18 playoff games this spring and won a Cup in Carolina in ’06.
If a team is already big enough, LaRose might be a handy third-line pickup.
Tuesday, 2:20 p.m. ET:
While Philadelphia goalie Martin Biron, in conversation with ESPN.com colleague Pierre Lebrun, sounds very much like a man looking forward to reaching UFA status tomorrow. But another Mark Witkin client isn’t speaking to the press in these crucial hours prior to the deadline.
“My agent is handling everything right now,” texted the usually affable Dwayne Roloson, who is believed to have been offered no more than a one-year deal by the Edmonton Oilers.
Witkin has both netminders, but would not say on Tuesday whether he expected that both had received the final offers from the clubs that hold their rights until 12:01 eastern time on Wednesday.
“You never know,” Witkin said from his office in Boston. “People play their cards very close to their vests until the witching hour then they show them.”
The Flyers signed Ray Emery at $1.5 million, and appear ready to let Biron go and take a $2 million savings on his $3.5 million price tag last season. With Colorado in desperate need of a goaltender, watch Biron end up in Denver in short order tomorrow.
As for the Oilers, they were thought to be interested in Minnesota backup Josh Harding, but swung a draft day trade with the Wild that excluded the goaltender. They also like New Jersey UFA Scott Clemmensen, but could go back to the Devil they know in Roloson.
“The last time I did a deal for Roli, it was done at 11:55 — six minutes before free agency,” Witkin said.
Tuesday, 2:00 p.m. ET:
Still getting word that the Edmonton Oilers are in the race for Dany Heatley.
The one thing new Oilers owner Daryl Katz has shown is that he is willing to throw money around at big-name players. Edmonton’s offer to Marian Hossa last season surpassed the $50 million mark.
So, if beating Tuesday’s midnight deadline for the $4 million payment due to Heatley is a tipping point for Senators GM Bryan Murray, that could well be how the Oilers sweeten the pot to out-bid the few teams left in the running.
The New York Rangers are one of those teams, of course, and they have never been afraid to spend. Oilers unsuccessfully offered defenceman Tom Gilbert to move up at the draft, and you can bet they are pitching Gilbert to Ottawa as well. Of their four offensive defencemen — Lubomir Visnovsky, Sheldon Souray, RFA Denis Grebeshkov and Gilbert — the Minnesota product Gilbert is the one they would part with.
Another assumption on our part: If the Oilers are going to eat the $4 million due to Heatley, are they trying to send bust Dustin Penner Ottawa’s way? He’s got three years left at $4.25 million.
Tuesday, 12:15 p.m. ET:
Marian Gaborik will not be picking up the phone to talk with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, and unless Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has a wildcard up his sleeve, the Slovak winger will become a UFA in July 1.
Just 24 hours before Wednesday’s Noon ET deadline, Gaborik’s agent Ron Salcer told Sportsnet where the Gaborik camp stands.
“Today I can only talk to [the Wild]. Tomorrow I can talk to everybody,” said Salcer.
Asked if Fletcher had instructed him to await another offer on Tuesday afternoon, Salcer said no such plan was in place.
“I don’t know what you mean by instructions,” he said. “All I can say is that I know what our plan is. If they call, I’ll look at [their offer]. Tomorrow, we can talk with everybody.”
It doesn’t sound like the Wild are interested.
On Monday evening, Salcer told the St. Paul Pioneer press, “[Fletcher] has contacted me on one occasion, and that was about 10 days ago.”
Fletcher was closed-mouth with the paper on Monday, answering two questions about Gaborik by saying, “I have no comment.”
Gaborik is one of the league’s fine young superstars, at just 27. But injuries make him a tough player to commit to long-term. He has had surgery on both hips over the past year, ostensibly to correct chronic groin problems.
Who might take a flyer on Gaborik?
Vancouver, perhaps, but only if negotiations with the Sedins fall through. Montreal could make Gaborik a centerpiece to their rebuild, and Los Angeles is definitely in the market for a superstar, though the Kings would prefer if Marian Hossa became available.
Would Toronto sign Gaborik? Frankly, with the injury risk, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy GM Brian Burke would tie his fortunes to.
