Look, I know I’ve been critical of Dany Heatley since he requested a trade a few weeks ago, but he should not be taking the heat (no pun intended) with this Edmonton situation.
Several days ago Heatley presented Ottawa with a list of teams he would accept a trade to and solid sources tell me Edmonton was NOT one of them.
Why should Heatley accept a trade to a city he never said he would go to?
So now Ottawa wants to basically trash Heatley publicly for not agreeing to this deal?
This is Bryan Murray’s fault for constructing a deal to a team Heatley never suggested he would play for.
Murray asked Heatley’s agent to provide Murray with a trade request in writing which specifically states Heatley will accept a deal to a “mutually” agreed hockey club.
They never mutually agreed to go to Edmonton.
You can’t force a trade on a player who has a no-move in his contract.
Murray had to have the trade request in writing to prevent a Joe Corvo situation from happening. If you remember Corvo said he didn’t ask for a trade after he was eventually moved. The club said Corvo did request to be traded.
So now it’s being painted like the club is waiting on Dany, but if the club would make a deal with a team he has identified as an organization he’ll play for we wouldn’t have this circus forced upon us. This is not about Heatley wanting to accept a trade on his terms. This is about accepting a trade to a team he said he would play for.
Rink Rats!
Worst Signing so far- Brian Gionta , 5 yrs $25 mill? Seriously?
Best deal so far- John Madden, 1 yr $2.75 to Chicago. Great signing.
Great signing by Mike Gillis in Vancouver to lock up the Sedin’s. He stood firm and didn’t go crazy with one of these absurd 10-15 year deals either.
The What is He Thinking Award goes to Glen Sather….This guy gives Donald Brashear nearly $3 million dollars when he could have signed Brian McGrattan for far less money.
It gets worse…
Marian Gaborik- 5 yrs at $7.5? I don’t get how and why teams just change players all the time. The Rangers get rid of Scott Gomez and then they sign Gaborik.
I’m told there are several GM’s upset at Gainey for letting Sather and the Rangers off the hook.
Why would Edmonton sign Nikolai Khabibulin for $15 million when all they had to do was give Dwayne Roloson another year at $2.5? So instead of spending $15 they could have spent $5 million. Edmonton wouldn’t give Roloson the 2nd year he was looking for.
I’m told the Khabibulin deal was done about a month ago.
Are some of these General Managers trying to win hockey games or trying to win the press conference. These guys in pressure cities like Montreal panic and feel like they have to make the splash and make irresponsible signings. We saw plenty of Gm’s panic on day one of free agency..
Why did we even have the lockout? When will teams stop spending money they really don’t have???
Wasn’t it Calgary who mismanaged the cap last season and could only keep 19 players on the roster late in the year?
There will be some very good goaltenders playing in Europe this season with guys like Martin Biron, Antero Nittymaki, Brent Johnson, Manny Legace, Kevin Weekes, and Manny Fernandez still floating out there.
Can Mattias Ohlund even play for three more years let alone seven? Many people in hockey believe his best days are way behind him.
San Jose is not actively trying to move Patrick Marleau but they would if they receive a player in return who they felt made the team better. In other words they aren’t looking to give him away by any means.
Blues Clues!
I thought it was a class move of Blues GM Larry Pleau to personally call D-man Matt Walker and congratulate him on his $4 yr deal with T.B. At least you know what you’re getting in Matt Walker. He’s a good teammate and works hard and is certainly deserving of a nice reward.
The Blues are still pursuing a D-man if it makes sense fianancially. Sergei Zubov, Mathieu Schneider, and Francois Beauchemin are names the Blues have looked into.
There is a decent chance they looked into Spacek but they likely weren’t interested in giving him 3 years.
The Blues expressed interest in Mathieu Garon and Scott Clemmensen before signing Ty Conklin.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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