Nabokov on Waivers, Who's In On Him?

I've found myself some time tonight and looked at my StatCounter and found that some people were looking for the waiver order for Evgeni Nabokov, as he awaits to see whether or not he will be picked up by another team or be allowed to join the Red Wings' 23-man roster.  I can't believe the amount of anticipation to see what happens out in the Twitterverse, but I'll admit, I'm kind of excited as well.

So, as it stands, the Detroit Red Wings signed Nabokov to a 1-year deal, worth $570,000 annually, which works out to be about a $250,000 cap hit for the rest of the season. There is a no-movement clause to his deal, meaning any team that actually takes on Nabokov, won't be able to shift him to the minors or deal him without issue.  The Red Wings put those clauses in the deal, in order to try and stave off some interest from other teams and it should work in some cases.

As the waiver order goes, it goes from the lowest point percentage earned to the best, in terms of priority, if more than one team put a claim in for Nabokov.  Let's see how that shakes out.

First up is the Devils, as they are currently the worst team in hockey. Nevertheless, with Martin Brodeur starting to finally show some life in the Devils crease and a capable back-up in Johan Hedberg, those are two pretty good reasons why the Devils commented to the negative side, that they'll be in on Nabokov tomorrow morning.  Despite the bargain basement price of $250,000 for the rest of the season, the Devils are still wrestling with some cap issues of their own and don't need the headache.

The Oilers might be in the basement of the Western Conference, but I really think that their believe in their goaltending, as that really hasn't been the worst part of their season. They held onto Jeff Deslauriers and carried three goalies until it was safe for them to demote him, I don't think they want to do the same with Devan Dubnyk, who might be tempting to another team that may be in on Nabokov.

For my money, I really think the Islanders will take a shot on Nabokov, because they don't really have anything to lose. Rick DiPietro is playing an on-again, off-again schedule, they have two back-ups competing for time and the team still looks like they want to play spoiler for the rest of the year. They have cap space up the ying yang and they could really give their franchise goalie some more time to get back to 100% and to a point where he doesn't have to rest every other day.

Failing the Islanders desire to improve their goaltending status in the league for the rest of the season, the Senators are probably looking at their 13-point deficit in the East and thinking that they have an outside chance at making it with a goalie they can play for the rest of the season. For the cost, it isn't a bad gamble to take for most people's money, but there is also the thought process that they might as well give more time to Mike Brodeur or Robin Lehner, work the future in their favour.

With the rumour mill still churning J-S Giguere through, grinding him down into a trade-able pulp, the only real way I could see the Leafs picking up Nabokov, would be to deal away their already well-paid veteran goalie. They don't really lose anything in terms of skill, since Nabokov hasn't likely played much in the last month and had terrible numbers in the KHL, compared to Giguere's work today.  The Leafs are awfully tight to the cap ceiling themselves, so a deal has to be in place, no matter which way you slice it, by the looks of things.

The term rebuilding may have surfaced this week when talking about the Flames and it would seem awfully odd for this team, who hasn't had much traction in the schedule or in the win column, try to improve their standing with a veteran goalie like Nabokov. Miikka Kiprusoff almost looks like he's at his wits end this season and with Henrik Karlsson getting more starts, adding another chef for the stew doesn't make too much sense either today or tomorrow.  I don't expect the Flames in on Nabokov.

The Panthers are coming in at number seven and with the attitude that Tomas Vokoun has developed over getting passed over for Scott Clemmensen, it doesn't sound unreasonable that the Panthers would try to move Vokoun and bring in Nabokov to help finish their season off.  The word that I've read surrounding the Panthers is that the team is still trying to re-sign Vokoun to a new deal, which would likely suggest that a spur of the moment decision is unlikely for Dale Tallon and his crew.

The Sabres got off to a terrible start to the season, but that doesn't really effect Ryan Miller's stock too much, as their All-Star goalie is playing really well at the moment, minus Friday night's game against the Islanders, where bad luck was all he had.  Even if they were to claim a guy like Nabokov, it doesn't seem really likely that Nabokov would report, knowing full well that he wouldn't get the time that he wants to play.  Even if Nabokov was to get this far, I don't expect the Sabres to be anywhere near the Russian keeper.

Neither goalie in Columbus has been too jaw-dropping, but there seems to be a lot of faith in Steve Mason, in his 3rd season, and Mathieu Garon does play the back-up role fairly well. Adding Nabokov would be a pretty heavy sleight against Mason in this case and that just seems rather unlikely tomorrow.  The Jackets are only five points out of a playoff spot in the West, which might be that little itch that keeps Scott Howson up at night, but I have the feeling he'll sleep well.

The Los Angeles Kings have to be thought of as a team that is quite comfortable with their goaltending tandem going forward, no matter how poorly the team in front of them are going.  Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier are two quality goaltenders that have some long-term potential with the club and are doing a fine job of fighting for minutes as it is.  Nabokov would not be a very good fit, despite being just outside the playoff picture at the moment.

If the Atlanta Thrashers going to be thought of as players in the Nabokov sweepstakes, their mindset may be that Ondrej Pavelec may need some more help to develop his game and playing behind a regular season superstar like Nabokov would be a treat for his development going forward.  There is also quite the European flavour to the team, so Nabokov wouldn't be out of place and with Chris Mason on the Injured Reserve with a knee injury, there might be some room for him.  I could see Atlanta be in for the end of the year, helping to get into the playoffs.

The rumour mill has suggested that the San Jose Sharks would be putting a bid in for their former number one goalie, who they didn't re-sign to a contract, believing a deal would likely cost them an arm and a leg.  With a cheap deal already in place, Antero Niittymaki hurt at the moment and being a point out of the playoffs, it doesn't seem too far-fetched.  Antti Niemi has started to take the minutes now and the team has turned a corner of sorts, so picking up a guy like Nabokov would suggest that Niittymaki's groin injury may be more serious that initially reported.  It could be a full house if Niittymaki was to return to two starting goalies already there.

Already, I have found four teams out of these twelve that I think will take a long look at claiming Nabokov and with the Hurricanes with two good goalies, the Blues working over Jaroslav Halak, the Ducks riding Jonas Hiller, the Wild having Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore, the Avalanche riding Craig Anderson, it really begins to thin out the crowd.

The only other team beyond the Avalanche are the Chicago Blackhawks, who have been rather disappointing as defending champions, might not be terribly comfortable with the inexperienced Corey Crawford or the aging Marty Turco, who have been good enough to keep the Blackhawks in the playoff race, but confidence will likely become shaky when the playoffs roll around.  In theory, the Blackhawks may have enough cap space to fit in the small cost of Nabokov, so there is a chance a claim could be thrown in.  Will it get any priority?  Seems unlikely to me.

We don't have too much longer to wait, I know I'll be eagerly anticipating the news.

Possible Big-Name Rentals in 2011

I haven't found a great deal of sizzling rumours to spell out in the past few weeks, as there really hasn't been many hands tipped in that general direction. There have been a number of names churned through the rumour mill, but no names have really been attached to other names, so there is little we can actually play with. So, I thought I would have a crack at pointing out some of the possible rental players, that may or may not be available at the trade deadline at the end of February.

Generally, when you're talking about rentals, you are looking at players who are going to be unrestricted free agents in the Summer, which suggests a team can use the player's talents through the end of the regular season and hope they help during a long playoff run and then not have to worry about them on their books anymore.  Rental players are also coming from teams that have little hope of making the playoffs, in most cases, hoping to get something back, like draft picks or prospects, for players that might otherwise leave the team in the off-season anyways through free agency.  There are plenty of exceptions to these guidelines, but the discussion usually reverts back to the guidelines.

But of course, we'll start the post off with an exception to the guidelines, as Brad Richards' name keeps landing in the rumour mill and likely for good reason.  The Dallas Stars are still running into ownership issues, which suggests some serious cash flow problems.  Richards, a top 10 scorer in the NHL this season, has done a marvelous job with the team, but there are many questions abound as to whether or not the Stars will have the ability to re-sign him to the numbers he'll likely demand.

Richards' 2011 annual cap hit is $7.8 million and the Stars had committed to that contract long before the ownership issues came to pass.  That being said, there will be (or likely has been) a great deal of internal discussion as to whether or not the team can afford not to have him on their payroll, especially since they lead the Pacific Division standings with him in the line-up.

I really don't think it is a matter of 'can he get dealt?', rather it being a matter of 'will he get dealt?'

Next up on the list is our first goaltender of the bunch and there has been plenty of scuttlebutt surrounding Tomas Vokoun of the Florida Panthers.  Vokoun will be an unrestricted free agent this Summer and has been having a mediocre season with the 11th place team in the East.  Teams looking to shore up their goaltending situation going into the playoffs may have a second or third look at Vokoun down this last stretch before the deadline, knowing full well that he can play some pretty good hockey.

The Panthers have a pretty good situation going for them in Florida at the moment, stocking up on some excellent prospects to go with some of their younger veterans, trying to build a solid contender.  Some of those prospects are also goaltenders, like Jacob Markstrom or Alexander Salak.  The sticking point for the Panthers would likely have to be whether or not they would like to have a guy like Vokoun for another season, waiting for their prospects to mature, or jump right into the young player game and let their prospects ride.

I'm sure there are a number of teams who are willing to look at the remainder of Vokoun's $5.7 million salary cap hit, just to give them some added security down the stretch, likely for a late 2nd or early 3rd round pick in the Summer.

Next up on the list sits Alex Tanguay, who may come in as a runner-up prize to the likes of Richards, in the sense that a team could be looking for a quality play-making forward.  Tanguay will also be a decent runner-up prize, because his annual cap hit is so much lower than Richards' at $1.7 million and going to a contending team should make it rather appealing for him to waive his limited no-trade/no-,movement clause, if he has to.

It's no secret that the Flames have definitely been struggling in the 2011 season and with new management in place to make some changes to the team, a guy like Tanguay is ripe for the picking, when it comes to making deals for future assets, like picks or prospects.  I could definitely see Tanguay go for a reasonably low set of draft picks.

The name that keeps popping up in trade rumours continues to be Tomas Kaberle of the Maple Leafs and despite his desire to stay in Toronto through this contract, the Leafs do have a very valuable asset on their hands, in terms of what they can get back via the trade market.

Kaberle has been having a pretty decent season in Toronto, despite their low scoring numbers, and that has to remain attractive to a playoff-bound team that is looking to increase their production from the back end.  The addition of Kaberle to most bluelines should be an easy fit and the value going back to Toronto could be adequate to calm some of the critics down.  Of course, the description of the package going back to the Maple Leafs would be a real indicator as to how the team will approach the 2012 season, but that's another story altogether.

I don't personally think that the chances of the Maple Leafs moving Kaberle are that good, but me saying that probably increased his chances by 15%.  If the Leafs get the deal that they really want out of Kaberle, I would imagine that there would be a relentless pursuit to force his hand and waive the clause, but so many factors are in the way before they get to that point.

Let's face it, the Devils have been terrible this year and they are in a good position to start selling off some of their unrestricted free agent assets, especially since they have already traded away their (former) captain, Jamie Langenbrunner to Dallas, this season.  Jason Arnott's name has popped up a few times already in the past weeks as a possible name to move and frankly, it makes sense.  Arnott is a quality forward with leadership qualities, he has a Cup ring and experience and he will be an unrestricted free agent in the Summer.

Arnott's numbers are down considerably in the 2011 season, but the New Jersey Devils have not been the best model of great offense throughout their line-up this season, to date.  With firepower like Zach Parise on the shelf for the bulk of the year and Ilya Kovalchuk underachieving, it should come as no surprise that the rest of the players are coming up a little short.  Still, at the end of the day, Arnott should garner some interest from a team that is in need of what he has to offer and should find a new home with a new opportunity.

Could the Ottawa Senators possibly move Alexei Kovalev in a deadline deal this year?  Well, it's hard to believe that anyone would take Kovalev on his merits from this 2011 season, but the NHL is a funny place sometimes and some managers seem to think that some players can still add something to their team, even if that player has had a bad run of things in the current season.  There might be hope for a guy like Kovalev, but his $5 million annual cap hit may have a lot to do with him staying in Ottawa for the duration of the season.

Kovalev does still have some talented hands on his side and the rumour mill does keep churning his name around, so there does seem to be a little bit of smoke around his name.  If I had to guess, I would think that Kovalev may be one of those secondary prizes at the deadline, as many teams will covet the same player, but only one team will get that top end player, forcing a team that still wants to make a move into picking up a guy like Kovalev.  If Kovalev does go, he might be a guy that goes for a cheap draft pick, near the end of the day on the 28th.

Whether or not any or all of these players are going to be traded remains to be seen.  The rumour mill will continue to churn out names that have potential to be moved, but it all really depends on the supply and demand of the teams involved.  Some teams may want way too much for players of this calibre to be moved, especially a team like the Dallas Stars, who may only part with Richards if the price meets their satisfaction.  I am definitely looking forward to the deadline this year... I might even have to take a day off for it.

Columbus in on Spezza?

RUMOUR			2009-2010 NHL Statistics				2011 Cap Info
To Columbus	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Jason Spezza	Forward	27	60	23	34	57	5	$7 million
--------------
To Ottawa	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Kristian Huselius	Forward	31	74	23	40	63	2	$4.75 million
Derrick Brassard	Forward	22	79	9	27	36	4	$3.25 million
2010 1st Round Pick (4th overall)

An interesting rumour starting to fly around on Monday night sees the oft-mentioned Jason Spezza heading down across the border and down into Ohio, where he would join the Blue Jackets for playmaking forward Kristian Huselius, Derrick Brassard and the 4th overall pick on Friday night. This is a pretty hefty rumour with the backing of two teams looking to make some changes and some names that constantly swirl around the rumour mill.

Of course, it wasn't too long before news came down that it hasn't been done (and here too), but it's definitely a good one to look at.

The Senators, at first glance, would be getting a lot for Spezza in this incarnation of the rumour, so I think it might be a little too weighted to one side, but I could see another pick and a prospect going back to Columbus on the other side, just to sort of comb it out.  Otherwise, this could have some legs to it.

The Senators are a bit on the high side of the salary cap numbers before this deal goes down, but adding an extra player, plus a million or so does make things a little easier to swallow for Ottawa. The Blue Jackets would bring the average cap hit per roster player up a bit with the acquisition of Spezza, but the potential combination of Spezza and Rick Nash has to be appealing to the Columbus faithful.

Spezza to Edmonton?

One rumour floating around HockeyBuzz today that I think has some serious merit to it is the Jason Spezza to Edmonton suggestions, which has him being moved at the Draft.  First of all, I would like to reiterate that I'm all over these Spezza rumours, because I think Bryan Murray has done a terrible job in Ottawa and has made some of his best players not want to play for the team anymore, which has got to be frustrating as a Senators fan. 

Today's post sees Spezza head West for a nice package in return, which includes either Sam Gagner or Andrew Cogliano, a couple of prospects (one being NHL ready) and a mid-round pick.  Since there was very few details, I didn't want to draw up the trade table, because I save that for some good mock-ups.

Nevertheless, the rumour does stand on it's own, especially since the Oilers are in desperate need of a quality centre (not to say that the Senators should be giving away one) and it would then justify drafting Tayor Hall with their number one overall pick in a week's time, possibly forming a formidable pairing.

Oh, okay... let's draw up something.  But let's be clear, this is me just playing around.  I am not trying to start a rumour here, I'm just drawing up what I think would be an alright deal... thinking out loud, if you will.

RUMOUR			2009-2010 NHL Statistics				2011 Cap Info
To Edmonton	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Jason Spezza	Forward	27	60	23	34	57	5	$7 million
--------------
To Ottawa	Position	Age	GP/MIN	G/W	A/SO	P	Years	Cap Hit
Sam Gagner	Forward	20	68	15	26	41	0	RFA
Alex Plante	Defense	21	4	0	1	1	2	$1.075 million
Devan Dubnyk	Goalie	24	1,075	4	0	8	0	RFA
2010 4th Round Pick (91st overall)

The price for Spezza is going to be steep, no matter which way you look at it and I think this deal looks about right for what the Oilers will have to pay for him. The Senators can help fill some voids with this deal, getting Gagner to replace Spezza, Plante to replace Volchenkov and give Dubnyk a shot at earning a place against Brian Elliot and Pascal Leclaire.

The Senators are also going to be shedding a lot of payroll and cap space with this deal sending Spezza out of town, so that should make them pretty big players in the free agency market.  It's all quite relevant, but who's really to say it would happen?

Spezza to Boston for the #2?

RUMOUR			2009-2010 NHL Statistics				2011 Cap Info
To Boston	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Jason Spezza	Forward	27	60	23	34	57	5	$7 million
--------------
To Ottawa	Positiion	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
2010 1st Round Pick (2nd overall)

Yes, I am going to continue to buy into these Jason Spezza rumours, because I think they have some legs to them.  Well, moreso that he is going to leave Ottawa than the actual rumours themselves, but thanks to ol' Eklund and his blog, we get to see what is floating around.  This afternoon's specialty sees Spezza going to Boston for the 2nd overall pick, which may or may not be a real game changer.

Spezza, the number two overall pick in 2001, would be a curious fit in Boston, a team that already has Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard signed on.  Any deal could see Bergeron or Spezza move to the wing, if necessary, so it probably shouldn't be held out of the question due to position.  The Bruins are finding themselves in a very positive window for becoming a contending team and adding a great puck moving centre like Spezza could make things a little more interesting.

Which team wouldn't want to take on the 2nd overall pick in this year's draft with the talent coming out of the top four or five players?  The Senators could then likely turn around and make a good offer to Anton Volchenkov with Spezza's cap hit leaving the books and Ottawa can remain a very good defensive team with a shot at making the playoffs again.

The real concern for the Bruins taking on a player like Spezza at the Entry Draft would be the build up against the cap, especially if no cap space opens up with another player going in the other direction.  Spezza is a $7 million cap hit and would potentially lift the Bruins' cap number up to $56.7 million, leaving very little room for six to eight players.

Dropping $7 million from the Senators books would leave them at $40.1 million, if the deal were to go down now, which would give them all sorts of room to fill in the eight to ten gaps in their roster.  

I don't like the chances of this straight swap happening, because it would be much harder to decide which pieces of the puzzle need to be taken out of Boston to help fit everyone in underneath the salary cap.  That being said, unless there is a plan in place or a few more factors that are not taken into account in this post, I really don't see this move happening. 

I'm Buying Stock in Spezza Rumours

I suppose making the playoffs is what keeps Bryan Murray employed in Ottawa, because it certainly isn't the assumed treatment of his highly-paid superstars that allows him to keep working at his post as General Manager.  If that was the case, I would have to think that the leaks of Jason Spezza coming into his office and having an emotional discussion after the season had ended would suggest that he has lost another star's confidence and may be forced to deal him.

This whole debacle really does seem to me, especially how everything had leaked, to be planted and framed up for Murray to make a deal this off-season, if at all possible.  Spezza does owe the Senators his silence through this whole charade, because they gave him all the patience and time that Spezza needed to become a good NHL player that can earn $7 million per season.  Since this soap opera has been kept under wraps and is slowly blowing up into a bigger and bigger deal, there might be a team or two that can fit him into their system and make a reasonable play for him.  This is me just thinking out loud again, there is no real basis to these thoughts other than calling it as I see it.

I would have to believe that the 2001 2nd overall pick is unhappy that he has seen one of his favourite playmaking targets, Dany Heatley, has left the team to greener pastures (also citing some differences in the organization) and you may even draw Ray Emery into the conversation as well, since it was believed that Spezza and Emery were friends in the organization.

This situation also reminds me a lot of the Heatley saga last Summer, when Bryan Murray was defiant in talking about dealing Heatley, until everything really boiled over.  I am going to buy into most Spezza rumours this Summer or at least write about the ones that are pretty well laid out.  I'm thinking that there should be a team or two that would want a $7 million guy, but can't seem to find one on the free agent market this year.  Look at Patrick Marleau, he'll be a prized possession and he's much older than Spezza.

Would Volchenkov Fit in Washington?

I had to raise an eyebrow at one of the rumours that Eklund posted this morning, seeing that the Washington Capitals have a lot of interest in potential free agent defenseman, Anton Volchenkov.  It should come as no surprise that Volchenkov is really drawing some interest, because he is a valuable defenseman, from a defensive standpoint.  He might not put up a great deal of points or generate a ton of offense by himself, but the guy is exceptionally physical and is able to block a lot of shots.  I would be drawing the interest around Volchenkov to the same amount of interest that Jay McKee got when he flipped into being an unrestricted free agent. 

Offensively, Volchenkov does not tip the scales too far with a career-high of only 19 points, so his fantasy value has not been high, in terms of scoring.  I suppose if you work one of those deeper statistical pools, you may find some good uses for Volchenkov in the blocked shots, shots on goal, plus/minus (on a good year) or penalty minutes, but otherwise, he's strictly your defensive defenseman.  Of course, if he moved to Washington and was able to unleash the cannon of a shot that he has on a power play, he might actually find himself with some more assists, possibly even some more goals, but that's if he was to move there.

Now, the next thing is determining what his actual cap value will be with his potential deal to see if he could possibly fit in a place like Washington or what they might have to do to fit him in.  Volchenkov's last deal, a 3-year, $7.5 million in 2007, was a cap hit of $2.5 million each year and was a pretty solid deal for the Senators, especially for all the hard work they got out of him.  In terms of defensive defensemen getting a brand new deal, McKee's deal in 2006 netted him $4 million a year, which was awfully high for a defenseman that doesn't score much.  Well, I think $4 million is a good jumping off point for Volchenkov, even four years down the road.

I think the greatest aspect of the Volchenkov free agency situation is that he will be a popular guy come July 1st and there just may be a bit of a bidding war for his services. If the auction was to start around $3.5 million per season, I could easily imagine him being overpaid at around $5.5 million per season by a contending team this Summer.  That's a lot of scratch for very little offense, but blocked shots and hits are becoming big business in a very offensive NHL.

Let's call it, the worst-case scenario for the winning club at $5.5 million per year for likely between four or five years in his first unrestricted free agency deal.  The Washington Capitals currently have plenty of cap space taken up with their current list of players, 13 players at $43.6 million, so a massive cap hit like the worst-case Volchenkov would really limit the rest of their depth and possibly give more reason to keep some of their developing blueliners in the minors for another year, which is one of those lumps they would have to take.  Of course, there may just be a market for a guy like Tom Poti, who has one year at $3.5 million against the cap left on his deal, to a team that needs a bit more offense from the blueline.  Out of general speculation, that might just work like a charm.

I would definitely say that Volchenkov signing in Washington is a plausible rumour, especially since a guy like Poti is marketable and the Capitals don't need much more offense from anyone, rather a lot more defense.

A Three-Way Deal in the Works?

			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To San Jose	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Dany Heatley	F	28	82	72	5 years/$7.5 million
------------------------------------------------------------------
			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To Los Angeles	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Patrick Marleau	F	30	76	71	1 year/$6.3 million
------------------------------------------------------------------
			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To Ottawa	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Jarret Stoll	F	27	74	41	3 years/$3.6 million
Alex Frolov	F	27	77	59	1 year/$2.9 million

Well, isn't this a tasty morsel of information to play with? Reading the rumours this morning, I found this little whisper through the grapevine and I had to write it down. I'm not sure what the actual chances of this happening are, but it sounds like it's just pending the approval of Marleau and his no-trade clause.

There is plenty to consider in this deal, especially since it doesn't help the Sharks' cap woes at all, as they end up taking more cap filler on, which is counter-productive to their current situation. The Kings would be moving two key players to their upcoming season and gaining somewhat of an underperformer. The Sens would definitely be the happiest of the bunch, being able to move Heatley and picking up two quality players for less of a cap hit than the one player that they moved out.

All this deal would be is a means to an end of this whole Heatley saga, if any.

Heatley to San Jose?

			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To San Jose	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Dany Heatley	F	28	82	72	5 years/$7.5 million
------------------------------------------------------------------
			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To Ottawa	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Jonathan Cheechoo	F	29	66	29	2 years/$3 million
Christian Ehrhoff	D	27	77	42	2 years/$3.1 million
2010 1st Round Pick

Sorry for the lack of posting here of late, there was that vacation I had and very little rumour to play with since I've been sitting in front of my computer, but this one does remain intriguing.

TSN.ca has reported that the new deal between Ottawa and San Jose could look a little like something above, but apparently Ottawa GM, Bryan Murray, says he's not interested. It certainly seems strange, especially since he'll get some quality offensive talent, which the Sens were not deep at last season and a first rounder, which has been some seriously top drawer value over the past few seasons.

Of course, the deal between Ottawa and Edmonton saw three roster players going straight across and that may be what Murray is holding out for, which isn't bad, but having two quality roster players and a big valuable pick isn't the worst thing that can happen to Ottawa.

On the flip side, the Sharks apparently need to make a flip in order to facilitate this deal. Well, let me assure you, there is no apparently about it. The Sharks are in huge cap trouble, as my numbers indicate that they only have 17 players signed on (including Cheechoo and Ehrhoff) at $56.3 million (rounded up), leaving only $500,000 underneath the cap. The Sharks would actually have to make a huge salary dump in this deal, especially since they are taking on more money against the cap in this deal for Heatley.

If the deal doesn't make sense for the Sens, it definitely doesn't make a lot of sense for the Sharks, so this one should almost be a moot point, period.

Heatley Leaving a Deal on the Table

			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To Edmonton	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Dany Heatley	F	28	82	72	5 years/$7.5 million
------------------------------------------------------------------
			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To Ottawa	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Dustin Penner	F	26	78	37	3 years/$4.25 million
Andrew Cogliano	F	22	82	38	1 year/$1.133 million
Ladislav Smid	D	23	60	11	RFA

Well, this rumour has been confirmed for the most part, but Dany Heatley is balking at the idea that he wants to waive his no-movement clause to go to Edmonton. This deal certainly gives both teams what they were looking for at the beginning of this ordeal, but it seems Edmonton is a terrible place to move to. Apparently, Heatley has until midnight tonight to make the move or else he has a much greater chance at staying in Ottawa for the coming season in some uncomfortable circumstances.