As Ek wrote this week, the best - and possible only remaining destination option - for
Dany Heatley may be the Rangers. It looks like when all else fails, the default option for Heatley and several others is the Broadway Blues.
This saga has been playing out for months, but
my question in this blog is not solely do the Rangers' fans want him but does any team's fans want him?
Heatley has been angling to get out of Ottawa for months, with several teams rumored to either have deals in place of be interested. When the last round of talks broke down, Heatley held a press conference and explained that his wish for a trade is tied exclusively to a "diminished role" with the Senators. Regardless of if you believe that or he blog Ek posted on why he turned down the deal to the Oilers, his status on Ottawa and anywhere he may go is likely worse than the view many have on Brett Favre.
The teams to have reportedly either have a deal in place or interest in Heater are Edmonton, LA, SJ and NYR, with others possibly in the mix but not mentioned publicly. Notwithstanding the cap hit for those or an other teams, my question to the Hockey Buzz community is:
has Heatley actions soured you so badly that even if your team acquired him and he had a solid year, would you even want him there? Heatley may be the most hated player in the NHL right now - even more than Sean Avery last year - as his constant waffling has impacted not just one or two teams but teams from coast to coast and between two countries.
If Heatley stays in Ottawa, the relationship has been so damaged that the fans and management and maybe even his teammates have soured so badly on him that for him, every game will be like a road game. If Heater does go elsewhere, does all the sturm-and-drang in dealing him coupled with the possibility that the players that have to go back to Ottawa were fan favorites, make that situation untenable as well.
What's your view, is Heatley a pariah regardless of where he goes, or if he puts up big numbers wherever he goes, that all will be forgotten?
On the
Phil Kessel situation, the
SNYRangersblog does an excellent job and analysis of the situation. In case you missed it, Mark Everson of
NY Post reports that the Rangers are believed to have talked seriously with the Bruins about trading for Kessel, but not lately.
Those talks may have occurred at the draft, especially given the Rangers current cap constraints, although, there are rumors that talks continue, with, surprise, surprise, Brandon Dubinsky the name mentioned heading back as part of a deal while two other teams may also be in the mix to deal for Kessel.
Kessel, an RFA, is rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery, but may be ready to skate when camps open next month. The key part of the column centers around compensation if Kessel is signed to a free-agent contract. Once Oct. 1 passes, the Bruins would be unable to match any Group 2 offer sheets, and would thus receive draft-pick compensation for Kessel. For salaries between $4.520 million and $6.026 million, compensation is a first-, second- and third-round pick.
The Rangers are cap hamstrung, so there best move would be to deal Dubinsky and maybe someone else to free up cap room to grab Kessel and then sign him to a long-term deal, something they seem reluctant to do with Dubie. Kessel can play center or right wing, so acquiring him would likely mean that if he does play center, he will be paired with Marian Gaborik, or if he moves to right wing, then Vaclav Prospal would move back to center and play on the first line. Kessel has shown he can be a sniper and improved defensively as the year wore on, though he is coming off shoulder surgery.
The issue with signing him as an RFA are that the Rangers would have to clear cap room, meaning that any team would rightly taken advantage of a desperate team and get a useful chip for nothing. Also, and maybe more important, as
Larry Brooks wrote, the trading of a third round pick to LA for Brian Boyle effectively took the Rangers out of bidding for any Group II FA, including Kessel, requiring a deal to be made to get him.
Boston wanted the seventh overall pick and Tomas Kaberle for Kessel at the draft, so the cost to the Rangers to get him would be similar. An offer of Dubi and Rosie wouldn't be enough, as I remember the vilification I got when suggesting Dubie for Savard as Bruins' fans are not that high on Dubie, so imagine what the reaction will be in a Dubi+ deal for Kessel. In addition, Boston signed Derek Morris and re-signed Matt Hunwick, lessening their need for a d-man. However, if Boston asked for Dubi and Staal, or Staal and something else, would that be too much for Rangers fans to stomach. As much as I like Staal, has he taken that next step we have all hoped to see to make him all but untouchable? Would Kessel give us that other sniper and possible first line center we need or do we feel we have enough forward depth that scoring won't be a major concern? I would consider moving Staal but more for an elite established d-man let along a forward, but the possibility of getting a young, possible exceptional book-end sniper to go with Gaborik is one that should be explored heavily by Sather, depending on the cost.
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