The silence is over, but the questions continue

Dany Heatley has spoken and as expected, his words didn’t move mountains.

The City of Champions was not an option for Heatley because “it was the only option,” he said during a teleconference call today.

Are you scratching your head right now after reading that? Edmonton wasn’t an option because it was the only option? What?

That’s like an airplane pilot opting to sit in his chair and give up, even though pressing the eject button is his only option before it crashes.

“This has nothing to do with Edmonton, this has everything to do with options,” said Heatley who refused to answer why Edmonton wasn’t a good enough fit.

Heatley confirmed Edmonton wasn’t on his list of his preferred teams even though Edmonton was the only team publicly interested in the 50-plus-goal scorer.

“I thought we has some good talks with (Steve Tambellini and Kevin Lowe), but we (Heatley and his two agents) wanted options, said Heatley.

“I needed options in order to make the right decision.”

Heatley says he maintained his silence since news broke about his trade request from Ottawa because he never wanted to make his request public.

(Actually he was told to talk to the media before he laces up at the Hockey Canada Olympic orientation camp in Calgary Monday)

And Heatley says he wanted out of Ottawa because he wants to be an “integral” part of the Ottawa Senators, something he feels has “diminished” since he inked his name to a contract two years ago.

“I regret the way it’s been this summer. It’s been a tough summer. It hasn’t been fair, especially to Edmonton and Ottawa but that’s the way it went,” said Heatley.

No it hasn’t, especially in Edmonton.

Fans here still don’t know why Edmonton is not a destination for superstars. It’s a city where hockey fans have had their hearts broken over and over again every summer.

They’re tired of the Prongers, the Nylanders, and now the Heatleys.

If a player doesn’t want to be in Edmonton, or wants out of Edmonton, he should show some balls and explain why the city isn’t the right place. Or why the team is not the right fit.

That’s all we want to hear. Be honest. Tell us Edmonton is a shithole if that's the reason you don't want to stay or come here.

You were screwed by Heatley. Now show some balls!

Getting a massive coaching team assembled was a step in the right direction this summer for the Oilers and so was the move to solidify its goaltending situation for at least the next three to five years.

Locking Denis Grebeshkov to a one-year $3 million contract was also a smart move.

But acting desperate to lure a malcontent hockey star all summer long is embarrassing.

Dany Heatley obviously doesn’t want to play here, nor does he want to play with his teammates in Ottawa.

Heatley wants to be with a contending hockey team, a team like the San Jose Sharks where GM Doug Wilson wants to make a major shakeup with his roster.

His mind is set and his silence says it all. Heatley hasn’t gone public about his actions up to this point because he’s scared about pissing off Canadian hockey fans, especially in Alberta.

But Kevin Lowe, Steve Tambellini and company are obviously not good at taking any hints and they should have bruises on their knees with the amount of begging they have done this summer.

Flying to Kelowna to Heatley’s summer home was fine to avoid a looming deadline back in July 1, but to pay someone money to deliver a video package last week to his agent is absolutely absurd.

The video was supposed to show off players like Ales Hemsky and Sam Gagner, according to Dan Barnes with the Edmonton Journal last week.

That same DVD is more than likely unopened as it continues to sit on Heatley’s kitchen counter.

He probably hasn’t had time to watch it. He’s too busy riding his motorboat in the Okanagan or he’s too busy shooting hockey pucks into an empty net in his backyard.

They would have been better off sending the 40-plus goal scorer a soother with an Oilers logo on it.

(Sigh.)

Instead of begging, Tambellini should ring him out in front of the press. Show some balls for Pete’s sake.

This player has strung along two NHL teams. He demanded a trade, but he has a list of preferred teams like a six-year-old’s Christmas wish list for Santa.

And guess what? Edmonton is not on his list.

Fans are fed up about the saga, so after trying to please a spoiled rotten NHL superstar, it’s time Tambellini should go to the fans and say “we’re sorry we couldn’t lure Heatley, and here’s why…”

There are other teams out there looking to unload talent because of the salary cap and the economic situation. Why focus on one player this whole time?

Time to move on.

Time to stop the shit from hitting the fan

Things haven’t been brewing that much at all in the Oil Patch and, quite frankly, there’s a bunch of cobwebs still inside the patch ever since Pat Quinn and company were hired. That was a long time ago.

A lot — and I mean a lot — has happened to me personally in the last little while, however.

My wife and I lost our condo to a flood three months ago and we are still trying to get back into it.

I lost my media job, I am contemplating another career path and I feel like shit is really starting to hit the fan in my life. And when I mean shit, I mean elephant shit.

I haven’t been interested in tapping anything on my computer or publishing anything since I was let go from Metro in their last wave of downsizing — it’s been tough.

And just when Steve Tambellini might cheer me up in luring a superstar in Danny Heatley, another selfish player decides the City of Champions is not a destination to play hockey. Same old story over and over again.

Sigh.

I feel like I have just been shit-rolled on Whyte Avenue or kicked in the groin continuously by a group of angry teens.

But now it’s now time to get on my feet and I have just decided to do just that tonight. Maybe this blog will go somewhere or it will take me in a new path? Who knows?

I just hope you read it and maybe telling others about it.

Don't spill the Kool-Aid

“Oh yeah!”

A blogger has crashed through a wall and spilled the Kool-Aid by creating an Internet firestorm all over the fact that he’s angry about whether or not TSN’s Darren Dreger pulls trade rumours out of his “ass.”

The site, which is obviously by an L.A. Kings fan, believes Dreger was making things up when he reported that the Montreal Canadians and the his Kings are contenders for Vincent Lecavalier.

The blogger, who identifies himself as “Bozo the Blogger” and uses a Kool-Aid profile pic, verbally contradicts everything that Dregs says, even the suggestion that the Kings are interested in shipping defenseman Jack Johnson for the superstar forward.

I don’t even understand why he wrote it and it didn’t make a lot of sense.

Rumours are rumours, but they always make headlines.

Now go and drink your Kool-Aid.

Let the games begin!

TSN has their prognosticators, but here at the Oil Patch, we have hard-nosed and intellectual rigpigs who’ve devised a list of the top five trade possibilities for the Oilers going into the deadline.

Sources, meanwhile, say GM Steve Tambellini is making some calls there is a chance we could hear about something in terms of a deal by the end of the weekend.

Enjoy the list.


NUMBER FIVE: Marty Reasoner and Boris Valabik from the Atlanta Thrashers.

This trade does seem like small potatoes, but it addresses two key issues with the Edmonton Oilers: face-off productivity and depth on defence.

Coach Craig MacTavish had urged Tambellini and Kevin Lowe to keep Reasoner before the player signed with Atlanta for a $1 million contract last summer.

And there’s a reason why MacT wanted Reasoner, and it shows this season on special teams simply because the Oilers can’t win a face-off. Reasoner was a tough penalty killer and consistent player in the circle.

Valabik is a six-foot-seven gritty and young defenseman on a weak Eastern Conference team. The addition of Valabik would answer the Oilers’ depth issue on the blueline after losing Lubomir Vishnovsky and Denis Grebeshkov to injury.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: Marc Pouliot, a second round draft pick, and maybe Liam Reddox


NUMBER FOUR: Alex Kovalev from the Montreal Canadians

There’s a train wreck brewing in Montreal and GM Bob Gainey might be busy during the trade deadline because of it.

Not only is he dealing with a public backlash over making Kovalev sit at home for two games, he’s now dealing with a criminal scandal that links Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn and Roman Hamrlik.

With the mess, Gainey could be desperate in shipping out his slumping star forward, and there is some scuttlebutt that Tambellini is interested, says TSN.

Taking Kovalev is a risk, but with Ales Hemsky finding ways to pass him the puck, he might work well in Edmonton.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: Dustin Penner, or Eric Cole.


NUMBER THREE: Ryan Whitney from the Pittsburg Penguins

The Pittsburg Penguins have a stockpile of defensemen — the Edmonton Oilers, on the other hand, don’t.

Sergei Gonchar is now back on the blueline and the Penguins are out looking to make a deal for some grit to get them back in the hunt.

Don't be surprise if Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero has already called Tambellini a few times in shipping Whitney who happens to be a young and promising blueliner on pace to reach 24 points this season in 49 games.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: Kyle Brodziak or Marc Pouliot, Steve MacIntyre and a conditional draft pick.


NUMBER TWO: Scott Niedermayer from the Anaheim Ducks

With the economic downturn and the Ducks finally hitting reality with their overpriced talent, it will be sell, sell, sell in Disneyland.

Niedermayer as a rental player will add a potent offence on the blueline that will include a one-two punch with Sheldon Souray. That could be one hell of a powerplay.

Niedermayer’s one-two punch with Oiler nemesis Chris Pronger has turned a little stale as of late. Niedermayer has also struggled offensively in his last seven games all because the team is a mess.

There is no word or info out there that says Niedermayer has a trade clause in his contract, however.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: The Ducks can have Dustin Penner back and a conditional draft pick or two. If not, they can take Eric Cole and a few draft picks.


NUMBER ONE: Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche

No, I’m not kidding.

The Colorado Avalanche is another team looking to unload because of the global recession. The problem is GM Francois Giguere has his hands tied because of the clause in Smyth’s contract.

Smyth will choose where he will get traded to and with a different ownership situation in Edmonton now with Daryl Katz as the owner, the City of Champions is suddenly more attractive than when he first left.

Fans saw Smyth when he was traded from Edmonton, especially that infamous teary news conference in the Edmonton International Airport.

It was tough pill to swallow, but with the Oilers on the verge of making the playoffs this season, Smyth might be looking for redemption after helping the Oil in that 2006 playoff run.

And if Tambellini does manage to make a deal, you can guarantee it will have Katz written all over it

The top line will be that much better, especially with Smyth’s skills in front of the net combined with Souray’s slap shot.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: The Avs can’t take much salary, but they can take Eric Cole or prospect players like Rob Schrempf and/or Robert Nilsson, Marc Pouliot and/or Liam Reddox, along with a first round draft pick.

A Dawes and Rozsival deal in the works? Hmm...

This first post ever for this blog is going to be a blog bombshell.

After learning there is no truth in seeing Jaromir Jagr escape the financially strapped Kootinental Hockey League in Russia to play in an Oilers unnie this season, don’t think for a second GM Steve Tambellini doesn't have something cooking.

And after doing the math, this transaction is waiting to happen.

With struggling to strike deals for more good talent all season, Tambellini is going to Manhattan to talk to Kevin Lowe’s old friend, Glen Sather.

We’ll give up some baggage — Rob Schremp, Kyle Brodziak, Marc Pouliot — for a speedy forward who isn’t afraid to bang it up along the boards for a forecheck and a defenseman who could replace injured Lubomir Vishnovsky who is reportedly gone for the rest of season.

What we’ll get in return from the New York Rangers is defenseman Michal Rozsival and forward Nigel Dawes and no, I’m not drunk.

Rozsival has 13 points this season — nine of those points are goals, a good support to fill that role with Sheldon Souray.

Dawes only has 16 points in 43 games this season as I am tapping this post, but he’s fast, he hits, he dangles, and it’s only his second season in the NHL for the former WHL standout.

Under Craig MacTavish’s system, Dawes is the type of player that would thrive in Edmonton.

He would work well in a line with Fernando Pisani who is close to coming back. He’s already skating.

The Oil are neck-and-neck with the Vancouver Canucks for the last playoff spot, and if team continues to tank over the next three games, you can forget about the trade ever happening because Tambellini will sell, sell, sell.