The Four Million Dollar Question

Written by Graeme Nichols | 21 June 2009

Much of the Heatley trade talk has focused on the unwillingness of potential trade partners to pony up the $4M signing bonus owed to Heatley on July 1st. The general consensus has that been that Murray would have to wait until after that date for the Euge to bite the bullet and improve Murray's leverage. Of course the concern in dealing that late in the offseason is that the date of Heatley's bonus coincides with the first day of unrestricted free agency. In other words, Heatley's market -- which is already small based on his contract, uncertain economic times, and NTC -- could get smaller as teams like LA could negotiate and sign a free agent winger without having to give up any assets.

So the question becomes, how can Murray move Heatley before July 1st if no one is willing to be on the hook for Heatley's $4M? The answer is simple, structure the trade offer so that Heatley's only referred to as "a player to be named later". Although the organization would pay his bonus, it'd give the team the opportunity to get their pieces before knowing their cap situation heading into the first days of free agency.

According to Spector's Hockey,

BOSTON GLOBE: Kevin Paul Dupont reports three clubs - Los Angeles, Vancouver and Montreal - have the cap space to afford Ottawa Senators winger Dany Heatley but the tricky part is the potential return. Dupont believes Senators GM Bryan Murray could make the Kings his primary target, with the reporter suggesting a return that might make sense could be gritty left winger Dustin Brown and defenseman Matt Greene. Dupont feels the best the Canucks could offer is a lesser package of Ryan Kesler-Kevin Bieksa while the Canadiens pickings are even slimmer as half the roster is eligible for UFA status.

INSIDESOCAL.COM: Rich Hammond reported Kings assistant GM Ron Hextall was recently asked by a fan about Heatley, with Hextall responding "in general terms", indicating Heatley requesting a trade with a list of preferred destinations only a year after re-signing a big contract with the Senators "raises red flags".

STARTRIBUNE.COM: Michael Russo reports Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher admitted he's spoken with the general managers of the other 29 NHL teams in pursuit of a trade, including several conversations with the Senators regarding Heatley.

SPECTOR'S NOTE: If we go by Hextall's comments it would appear the Kings might not be interested in Heatley. I wouldn't consider a return of Kesler and Bieksa from the Canucks to be a "lesser package" than Dupont's suggested Brown-Greene package but the only way I see the Canucks pursuing Heatley is if they're unable to re-sign the Sedins. The Wild's most enticing trade bait is Josh Harding, which the Senators might've been interested in if they hadn't acquired Pascal Leclaire back in March. The Habs could offer up some promising young talent but Murray might wish to avoid dealing Heatley to Montreal, which might not be on Heatley's list of destinations. It's possible Heatley could be traded by this weekend but I think that $4 million bonus he's due on July 1st will keep him a Senators until July 2nd at the earlier.

< Prev		Next >