The Heatley Saga Continues

*-> Dany Heatley has reportedly refused the trade to Edmonton therefore it forces Ottawa to take the 4$Mil bonus hit but fortunatly it doesn't effect the salary cap. No reason yet for the refusal and I'm sure theres more to follow.

Ice Scoopz: Trade - > Heatley Saga Almost Over!

*-> It was recently reported by RDS that the Heatley Saga is almost over. The Ottawa Senators have a deal in place for Dany Heatley finally. The Senators would send Dany Heatley to the Edmonton Oilers for Ladislav Smid, Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano. All that's stopping the Sens from moving on in this chapter is Dany Heatley's no movement clause. I feel chances are this will be a done deal because bother parties would love to end this asap.

A decent deal for Ottawa but by no means got full value. Dustin Penner is a huge cap hit for not a whole lot while Ladislav Smid who is still an RFA which should be a problem. Andrew Cogliano is an above average player but is no 50 goal scorer they need to replace.

Ice Scoopz: Draft Day Afternoon

*-> The talks are heating up at the predraft meetings. The Tampa Bay Lightning are trying to make an important decision on whether or not to trade Vinny or not. The Montreal Canadians have been presuing the star center since trade deadline last season. The habs have reportedly offered Tomas Plecanec, Chris Higgins, Pk Subban and their 1st round for him but the Lightning are looking for a defenseman. They would love Andrei Markov but he is untouchable. Mike Komisarek would also do it but the Lightning want him signed to a deal first.

Another front runner appears to be the San Jose Sharks but they would want a major a major cap dump. The rumor out there is Joe Thornton.

*-> Dean Lombardi the GM of the Los Angeles Kings claims he's not a front runner in the Dany Heatley sweepstakes. He has yet to put an offer on the table.

*-> The Anaheim Ducks have given veterans Scott Niedermyer and Teemu Selanne till 3pm today to decide if they will be playing for the Ducks or in the NHL next season. Selanne is leaning towards playing but Niedermyer appears torn.

Ice Scoopz: Thursday Morning -> Draft Day Closing In

With less than a day before the draft the rumors continue to swirl around the league. It looks more and more likely that Danny Heatley and quite possibly Vincent Lecavalier will be moved at the draft . Leafs also have stated they would love to jump up in the draft as well.

*-> Brenden Shanahan is reportedly still interested in playing next season but his agent has reported Shanahan has yet to receive an offer from the New Jersey Devils. Shanahan has no targetted teams and would welcome a deal anywhere in the East.

*-> Sergei Fedorov has officially signed in the KHL with Metallurg Magnitogorsk as previosuly reported on Ice Scoopz. All that is know at this time is that Sergei wanted to furfil his fathers dream of the two Fedorov brothers (Fedor and Sergei) playing together on the same team. It is also reported to be a 2 year deal worth 2MIL$ a season.

*-> Aging defenseman Chris Chelios has stated this week that he definatly wants to keep playing for atleast another year now that Detroit has officially stated that he would no longer be part of their plans for the future. Chelios has no hard feelings about his parting with Detroit and will wait to receive offers from other teams. Is it rumored that Chicago one of his former teams is interested in bringing him on as a 6th to help their young mature. Chelios has also said if he does not receive an offer 2 months into the season he would officially retire.

*-> Rumors out of New York claim the Rangers are close to a deal with Ottawa for Danny Heatley. The deal reportedly on the table is for Chris Drury and Bobby Sanguinetti. The Rangers would love to swap Scott Gomez directly but Ottawa is seeking a impact roster player and ether a high draft pick or a blue chip prospect and it is highly unlikely they'd take such a high salary in return. Prospect Derek Stephan and winger Nikolai Zherdev are another two players that keep getting mentioned in the New York media.

Heatley is also hot talk in Colorado where the Avalanche look to rebuild for next season. Heatley would be a great addition as he is signed long term and could be the building point of a franchise. The return subject is where this rumor sorta falls off. The Avalanche are not interested in parting with any picks, prospects or young players other than Marek Svatos. John Michael Liles is another name been thrown about but he alone is not going to get a deal done with Ottawa. Ryan Smyth would be a name Ottawa is interested in and a player who could possibly turn the dressing room around an reunite the troops. Although Smyth told the media last deadline he is happy in Colorado and would not waive his no trade for any team. Would the prospect of coming back home to Canada sway his mind? Especially the nations capital?

Another Heatley rumor out there is the Chicago Blackhawks is highly interested in replacing Martin Havlat with Danny Heatley. Chicago would have to give up one of their 3 stud defensemen in Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook or Cam Barker with only the later in play. Barker who has been slow to develop would be much welcome in the Ottawa organization. Chicago's late 1st round draft pick plus Barker might be able to get a deal done, with hopes Ottawa can land a top line winger via free agency.

*-> Speaking of Marty Havlat, he recently posted on his blog he is enjoying his vacation and hopes to return to Chicago next season. It is his primary choice to resign in Chicago and his agent will continue talks this weekend in Montreal to try and get a deal worked out by July 1st.

*-> Rumors have been out of control this week in Vancouver due to a recent article stating Marian Gaborik has bought a house in the Vancouver area late last week. to add more fuel to the fire the Gaborik and Demetra are best of friends and have been dying to reunite together and Vancouver could be the destination now it looks like the Sedins will walk.

Part two of this rumor is that it is entirely false that Gaborik has purchased a home in Vancouver. Pavol Demetra appeared on a radio interview this week and crushed many Vancouver fans hopes by saying Gaborik has not bought a house and has not dicussed reuniting in vancouver with him although it would be much welcomed.

*-> Tsn reports the San Jose Sharks are shopping Ryan Clowe hard in Montreal today. the leafs have shown interest but San Jose is asking for their 1st round pick a price the Leafs wont pay. The Philly Flyers are also in the hunt but do not want to part with winger Claude Giroux.

*-> Last of all Tsn is also reporting that Jay Bouwmeester's rights are close to being dealt and they are expected to go soon.

Ice Scoopz: Heatley Rumors Heating Up

*-> As Many Ottawa fans anxiously and patiently await to see who may replace their star winger , GM Bryan Murray continues to work the phones. The Heatley Trade Countdown has begun as each day draws closer to the NHL Entry Draft next Friday and with July 1st Free Agency also creeping up. The rumors are heating up as most analysts believe Bryan Murray will trade Heater before the July 1st free agency period. Why? Because it only makes perfect sense. If the Sens decided to stupidly wait past July 1st they will be forced to pay Heatley a 4 Million$ bonus which although doesn't effect the cap it does however cost the team a large sum for someone who doesn't want to play there. Another key point is that Heatleys 7.5$ MIL salary could be used to lure in an impact free agent and we all know that most of the big names are gone within a two week period. So why would Bryan Murray wait to move Heatley? He's not. Realistically the GM would love to get rid of Heatley before or during the draft so not only could they get an impact player but also a draft pick in return. It isn't all positive for the Sens ether. Because Heatley decided to leak his trade request to the media he has handicapped Bryan Murray. Murray's fellow GM's now know Heatley wants out and the Sens are going to be forced to deal him quickly because of July 1st and the Draft. This should lower his price just a little. On top Heatley has a no movement clause which allows Heatley to choose his destination, so Heatley goes only where Heatley wants. Another discount. Finally Heatleys massive contract will have to be absorbed somehow and the Sens will almost certainly be asked to take cap space in return. thus reducing Heatley's value even more. So that's what we know so far.

What will Bryan Murray be able to do? Where will Heatley land? Who will Ottawa get? We know that Heatley would realistically like to play out West so the Western conference is most likely where he'll end up. If they did manage to swing a deal in the East we do know that "career stop" Ottawa, and "memory lane" Atlanta are out of the picture. Today Brian Burke of the Toronto Maple Leaf's said his club will 100% be out of the Heatley trade due to the way Heatley handled himself during this whole mess. Count T-dot out. The rumored teams so far have been Vancouver who most likely will lose their only offence the Sedins, The Calgary Flames, The Edmonton Oilers, and the LA Kings.

The Vancouver Canucks are in a dangerous situation in which they might lose 75% of their offence come July 1st. The Sedins don't appear to be happy with the offers so far made by the Canucks. This leaves Vancouver with a very large hole to fill on an already offence dry team. Heatley would be an instant fix and would cost less than resigning both Sedins. The rumored player to be traded in return is Loungo which personally I find ridiculous. Why would they deal a franchise goalie and the captain? I say the more likely scenario is Ottawa gets Michael Grabner or Jannick Hansen and their 1st or 2nd in this years draft. They mad be out an impact player now but they restock their system with a pretty decent prospect and a late 1st round pick before going out on July 1st and spending that 7.5$ MIL without having to worry about any trade back salary.

The Calgary Flames also have been mentioned several times mainly I believe because Alberta is Heatleys home province. Heatley for Phaneuf is the on going rumor in the hockey world but like the Vancouver rumor, I highly doubt Calgary would part with such an impact defenseman who is likely going to be a cornerstone in their franchise for years to come. It doesn't make sense. Also Calgary has major cap issues and would love to resign Mike Camalleri. Unless Ottawa is willing to take Olli Jokinen and Corey Sarich's salaries in return this deal won't work. It doesn't make sense for Ottawa as they already have a number one center and several aging old style NHL defenseman as it is.

The Edmonton Oilers another Alberta connection team could have what it takes to get a deal done with Ottawa. They have been seeking a star player for quite sometime and a hometown player would be sure to put the fans over. Rumor has it that Edmonton has a deal on the table that includes Sheldon Souray, Gilbert Brule and Patrick O'Sullivan for Heater. Another name being thrown about is defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. Ottawa would really love to have that powerplay quarterback and their salaries would almost offset but I think Ottawa is looking for a player for the top line and secondary scoring before they touch defensemen. Edmonton also has struggling should have been star Robbie Shremp and most likely bust Gilbert Brule they may be able to toss in as a throw in to per sway Murray.

L.A is another interesting scenario which has been all over the media just simply because they have a deep talent pool of prospects and a boatload of cap space. The deal rumored so far is Alexander Frolov and this years 2nd for Heatley. It's a decent trade but I think Ottawa is looking for something else like a throw in or a prospect to weigh the scales a little better. Ted Purcell should be the prospect is after but defenseman Vyacheslav Voinov is the more likely prospect to be thrown in due to LA's defensive logjam.

Later tonight I'll have a few more rumored destinations as the evenings usual Ice Scoopz and a recapped of yesterdays news.

Breaking News

*-Hockey insider Cody Ackland has reported that Ottawa forward Danny Heatley has officially requested a trade out of the Nations capitol. It offically came to light today but has been a request since late last season. GM Bryan Murray has said he will take a look at his options in the next couple of days to what the next step is.for now he says Heatley is still under contract so he is still a Sen. Rumor has it is that Heatley has been unhappy with his role and the multiple coaching changes in the last year and a bit. He is also rumored to be interested in heading out West. Vancouver has been linked.