According to a recent post by Eklund the Rangers may be close to acquiring Dany Heatley from Ottawa. Here is what Eklund had to say, "* The Rangers are reportedly offering a deal that may include Chris Drury to the Sens for Dany Heatley. A source close to the scene in NY said that "There are major wheels in motion, and I believe Heatley to be a Ranger by Sunday."
Personally I saw Heatley's tade demand as an opportunity for Sen GM Bryan Murray to add some key pieces to the Sens roster while clearing a cap-killing deal off of their books. If they were to take back Drury's contract then for the next 3 years at least they wouldn't be saving any cap space. I'm sure Drury would fit in Ottawa and provide a good locker room presence and solid play on the ice but as we Rangers fans can attest all of those things don't make Drury a $7 million-a-year player.
From the Rangers perspective, Heatley would provide them with that top notch goal-scoring threat that the lack. Certainly he would help out both at even-strength and on the power play; which was the Rangers Achilles Heel last season, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. The supposed rift between Heatley and new Sens coach Cory Clouston makes me wonder how Heatley will handle Torts.
Overall, depending on what else is involved in the trade, I like the thought of adding a threat like Heatley to the Rangers lineup. Certainly the easiest way to do that is to move a contract like Drury's. I'd miss Drury but with Heatley on board the Rangers become a more dangerous team offensively.
I dunno, just seems too good to be true, and I can't believe it...Can't believe the Roszival, Z, 1st, and 5th either....
I know; I don't believe that Ottawa would take two over-priced underachievers back for Heatley. Rozsy's a $5 million-per-year hit and Zherdev is a RFA that made $2.5 last year. That equals Heatley's cap hit. We can hope right? Otherwise it may be a quiet offseason.
That deal makes zero sense in terms of what Ottawa is trying to accomplish. They need secondary scoring, and probably some help with primary scoring with the departure of their top goal scorer.So while Drury may be a great addition in terms of locker room presence, defensive responsibility etc, this really does not address any of Ottawa's most pressing needs.Reality is, this sounds like about 90% of the rumors that usually get posted around here, highly unlikely.
Please tell me this is true! I love Dru but expected a lot more from him. He's a good guy but not a true superstar that commands 7-mil a year.
Uh, you do realize that Eklund makes everything up, right? He doesn't really have any sources. He's literally never correct about a rumor.
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I've seen a number of occasions when Ek was right on about a rumor. Only a small amount of rumors from any source actually "pan out". Ek does a great job of showing us what is discussed behind the scenes; even if it doesn't come to pass.
Eklund has a success rate less than picking a team out of a hat. I usually know something will NOT happen when he reports it. And he was right 15 times since January 2008, out of I believe 470 rumors. And all those times, he predicted multiple teams. He's a fraud.
And before you ask, I'm only a member because I liked Scott Gallof's blogs.
I am impressed that you've evidently done the math on Ek's success rate with his rumors. Regardless my blog was intended to see what Rangers fans and Ottawa fans felt about the possibility of Heatley being traded to the Rangers or to another team. We can debate how successful Ek's rumors are at a later date.
Well, here's my input then. Overlook Heatley. He's a star, but he seems to get disgruntled easily, and that's not something our hardass of a coach needs. I say forget about Heatley, and save our assets for Kovalchuk, who is the more talented player, and has never had a taste of success, so he's got the drive.
I would prefer Kovalchuk also though I question his commitment to playing defense. Tortorella might be the perfect coach for Kovalchuk. But Don Waddell seems convinced that he can get Kovalchuk signed to an extension. I guess we'll have to wait and see on Kovie.
Mark my words. Kovalchuk will not be a Thrasher past 2010.