Sharks and Wild hook up again: Heatley for Havlat

While the in$anity of a few GMs grabbed most of the attention on Fourth of July weekend, the Sharks and Wild were busy on the phones for the second time since the Draft- hooking up for another blockbuster. Unlike the first which involved San Jose addressing a need on the back end by acquiring Brent Burns for a package that featured Devin Setoguchi, this time they decided they'd seen enough of Dany Heatley, dealing the All-Star to Minnesota for Martin Havlat.

The surprising trade sent shockwaves throughout the blogosphere with many questioning why the Sharks did it. Even though I'm not the biggest Heatley fan, he is better than Havlat, who's been more injury prone. Perhaps Doug Wilson was looking at the lack of postseason production from one of his top guns with the 30 year-old former '00 second overall pick only notching five goals over 32 playoff games over two Springs with San Jose. In moving the two-time 50-goal scorer, Wilson dumped some salary with approximately $2.5 million coming off the cap. Over the next three seasons, Heatley's average cap hit is $7.5 M while Havlat, who had to agree to waive his no-trade clause, will earn $5 M over the final four years of his deal. Ironically, two points separated the scoring wings with Heatley tallying 64 (26-38-64) in a down season while Havlat responded from a disappointing first year in St. Paul with 62 (22-40-62), for his third highest mark.

"When players that we have targeted become available, you need to be able to react quickly and you also have to pay a price in order to acquire them," Shark GM Wilson told reporters. "When we made the Brent Burns trade, we knew we still needed to address our speed up front and we think the acquisition of Marty does that."

It remains to be seen if the change will work for both. While Havlat should be thrilled to be part of a talented Sharks' club that lost to Vancouver in the Conference Finals, Heatley goes to a team that's missed the playoffs the past three years. Amazingly, the original Thrasher is now on his fourth team with his trade request from the Senators and rejection of the Oilers still fresh. Many Ranger fans coveted Heatley. I wonder how they feel now. Now, he'll have to find chemistry with top pivot Mikko Koivu and lift a franchise out of mediocrity. Who would you rather have? Heatley or Marian Gaborik, who mystified Garden Faithful after a sparkling first year. Most would take Heater. A lot can change with Brad Richards anchoring Gabby. Like Dany's nostalgic 80's hit goal song in Kanata, The Heat Is On. At least he'll have familiar face Setoguchi with him to help adjust.

For Havlat, it'll be interesting to see how he meshes with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski. He'll be quite familiar with Burns, who when healthy is one of the better blueliners in the game. On paper, it looks like the Wild won but no games have been played. One confusing question at least to this blogger is why the two trades. Why not just use Heatley to get Burns? The Sharks probably could've gotten a pick/prospect thrown in. Instead, they parted with top prospect Charlie Coyle and an '11 No.1 to get Burns while also subtracting the cohesive Setoguchi. Wouldn't it have made more sense the other way? Some things are better off unexplained.

Miller Time indeed as USA stuns Canada

Nearly thirty years to the day of the greatest hockey game ever played in our country, another batch of determined, gritty Americans gave a memorable performance of their own. With Miracle On Ice heroes Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig and Mark Johnson looking on in a hostile yet chaotic environment over in Vancouver, Team USA outworked tournament favorite Canada- pulling off a 5-3 upset in the final tuneup before the medal round. The stunning win allowed Ron Wilson's club to finish a perfect 3-0 winning Group A to advance automatically to the quarterfinals.

Though it was a preliminary match that pales in comparison to the remarkable American upset of world power Russia en route to winning Olympic gold over Finland, this was a huge victory for USA Hockey. Especially in a tournament few gave them a chance to medal. Maybe one thing overlooked was the kind of character architect Brian Burke opted for on a North American rink. Unlike wider rinks, the more traditional NHL sized ice is better suited to physical play. Thus far, it's been grinders Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Ryan Kesler, Dustin Brown, David Backes and skilled yet imposing Cherry Hill native Bobby Ryan who've made significant contributions. Facing one of the most talented rosters, they were instrumental last night. Especially down the stretch when a desperate Canada pressed for the equalizer, even holding the puck in for seemingly ever as our boys were out on their feet.

Thanks to heroic netminding from Ryan Miller, who was absolutely amazing- along with tremendous will from Callahan who atoned for a giveaway by reaching out with his right glove extended to block a shot before the puck was finally cleared after roughly 100 seconds, the hungrier Americans prevailed. Enough cannot be said about the Buffalo goalie who didn't wear trademark No.30 instead donning No.39 in special tribute to Dominik Hasek??? Something Sabres contributor Brian noted. Whatever the reason, in his third Olympic start, he emulated the Dominator with some def defying saves on his way to 42 saves, including a two-save sequence in the frantic final two minutes that featured a Hasek-esque twisting stick save followed by a glove committing highway robbery which shocked Canadian Hockey Place.

One of the front runners for the Vezina left little doubt that he was the better goalie, outplaying Martin Brodeur who was culpable on at least half the output- permitting four goals on 22 shots. His more talented team which featured the all-Shark line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and goalscorer Dany Heatley plus finisher Sid The Kid, Rick Nash, Jarome Iginla, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and goalscorer Eric Staal helped outshoot Team USA 45-23. Canada's blueline also boasted vet tandem Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, who jumped up in the rush generating chances as did younger tandem Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty late. Despite an edge that included Dan Boyle and Shea Weber, the Canadian D struggled defensively against the Americans' feisty forwards who pounced on their opportunities.

One of the keys to the great win was Brian Rafalski, who had a tremendous night tallying twice and assisting on team captain Jamie Langenbrunner's third period power play decider with less than 13 minutes left. The former Devil defenseman was brilliant scoring 41 seconds into the contest, setting the tone. It was vital for Team USA to get out quickly against such a lethal opponent who still had the majority of the support even if there were plenty of Americans cheering on their heroes. Rafalski one-timed a Ryan Suter pass off Sidney Crosby past Brodeur. It would be a hint of things to come with Crosby finishing minus-three in spite of his late power play goal that made the ending more dramatic. That both Zach Parise and Langenbrunner, who was a beast, would be out celebrating a goal from their ex-teammate was pretty cool.

Canada responded when Staal neatly deflected home a Brent Seabrook point shot tying it 8:12 later. But before the pumped up crowd could get back in their seats, Rafalski did it again scoring his fourth consecutive goal for Team USA. This from a guy who had the same amount in 57 games with Detroit this season. He got a little help from Brodeur, who apparently must've thought Raf was still on his side. MB30 made a careless blunder aggressively paddling a loose puck right to the former Wisconsin standout whose fanned shot snuck through only 22 seconds later.

Afterwards, the Americans couldn't muster much else as the ice tilted with the hosts pushing the pedal to the mettle, outshooting the red, white and blue 19-6. Trouble was they couldn't squeeze another by Miller, who by this point was demonstrating the 2009-10 form that carried Buffalo near the top of the conference before a late slump had them a point behind Ottawa. Nothing seemed to distract him. Still, Canada came back to tie a second time early in the second when Heatley banged home a Jonathan Toews rebound off a mad scramble. Toews- who faced Blackhawk teammate Patrick Kane- was easily one of their best players. His great skating and playmaking was on display.

Every time you waited for Canada to surge ahead, Miller stood in the path as did gritty 'mates who sacrificed by finishing checks, diving to block shots and winning battles in the trenches. The intensity of Team USA was apparent. They desperately wanted this game. In the words of hometown Canuck Ryan Kesler who wisecracked that he hated Canada even guaranteeing victory, their willingness to get dirty was a noticeable difference along with Miller's clutch play in net. With the game still knotted and the crowd enjoying the physical firewagon hockey that always is associated when these rivals play, the hitting picked up. Nash had a ferocious hit. Even if it didn't compare to Alex Ovechkin's highlight reel clean shoulder that took Jaromir Jagr off the puck, leading to the Russian winner in a 4-2 triumph over Czech Republic to win their group. To quote pal John who we were over in Old Bridge:

"He sent him back to the 80's."

That game was an enjoyable appetizer that included Evgeni Malkin's sweet finish on that huge turning point. Even if Jagr came back playing an inspired third, drawing three bodies to him on Petr Cajanek's goal that made it interesting before Pavel Datsyuk sealed it. Ironically, hated one-time Blueshirt Dmitri Kalinin saved Russia's bacon with a great defensive play might've resulted in the tying goal. But hey. It was a good day for Rangers with Henrik Lundqvist pitching another shutout (3-zip) this time over nemesis Finland to win Group C. Plus Drury, who scored a money go-ahead off a wild sequence that saw Brodeur flopping around with Backes and Ryan each getting whacks before the revived Ranger captain finished off his second at 16:46. Did we mention how good the controversial Burke selection was in his usual checking role alongside PK partner Callahan? Both were standouts, making key blocks late to preserve victory.

Remarkably, it was Team USA that took over late in the second and continued to push the action initially in the final stanza. Using a relentless forecheck to finally challenge Canada's D, they drew three consecutive penalties. After Canada killed off the first two including an undisciplined Crosby hi-stick in the offensive zone, they couldn't make it three-for-three. With Perry in the box for a slash, the former Devil combo went to work again with Rafalski sending another one-timer from the left wing towards the net which went off Langenbrunner's skate past Brodeur. While Parise celebrated by jumping up and down, the insurance that Suter also netted his second helper on gave the U.S. just enough margin.

From there, it was Miller Time. On a day where the team in front of him were very disciplined, they handed the Canadians two straight power plays. After killing off the first thanks to timely stops from their meal ticket along with splendid PK work, Erik Johnson was nabbed for a questionable trip. They nearly had it back to even strength when Crosby went to the net and nicely deflected home a Nash feed, sneaking it just through Miller's waffle, slicing to 4-3 with 3:09 left. Keith added a helper.

That's when it got hectic. Chaos ensued on the next shift as Canada threw the kitchen sink at Miller, trying to get it tied. For what felt like an eternity, they had Team USA pinned deep. Eventually, they got tired and Canada moved the puck quickly for pointblank chances. Somehow, Miller made the saves which ranged from a tough glove save with traffic that he turned routine to a one-timer in the slot that he got a toe on. Eventually, the puck came to a wide open Weber, who fired but Miller said no.With his dead team unable to get the puck out following a Callahan clear which was gloved down, the hardest working Ranger made up for it by making a sprawling block of a one-timer. Eventually, they cleared the zone finally getting a change.

The play-by-play from Doc Emrick was as good as it got, describing the furious action as only he can. It still wasn't over with Team Canada pulling Brodeur for an extra attacker with over a minute left. However, the American's fire won out, eventually with Parise wisely pushing the puck out off the boards to avoid icing. Then, the amazing happened as Kesler outraced Perry somehow getting his stick on it for the empty netter that sealed it with 45 ticks remaining. But down two, the Canadians still came forcing Miller to make one more save before it ended.

It's amazing to think that this was a preliminary round game. The way it was so highly contested spoke volumes about how much the players cared. It was exactly the kind of hockey which is why they must commit to 2014 in Moscow. Regardless what Gary Bettman says, this game was a homerun. Even if it wasn't on NBC. MSNBC still did a phenomenal job not screwing anything up and making it a must watch. These games matter. I don't care who you are. That was truly special.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Chris Drury, USA (2nd of Olympics for go-ahead tally)
2nd Star-Brian Rafalski, USA (2 goals and assist-leads all Americans with 5 Pts)
1st Star-Ryan Miller, USA (42 saves incl.13/14 in 3rd)

Paddock firing predictable

Remember when John Paddock was coaching the Wolf Pack and was thought to be the solution here??? Well, that same guy who left the Ranger organization a few years ago to work with Ottawa's AHL affiliate Binghamton got predictably canned yesterday.

His first season coaching the Senators didn't start out bad by any means as the Stanley Cup runner-ups got out of the gate quickly building a double digit conference lead. However, as time has gone on, the once thought overwhelming Eastern favorites came back to the pack like a runner in a marathon who goes out too fast and then fades.

So, what happened to Ottawa under Paddock? Well, for one thing, goaltenders Ray Emery and Martin Gerber were average at best. Unable to provide consistent efforts in net, they showed the one real weakness in the Sens. Or maybe it was just my hex I put on them after I was pretty convinced that the Stillman/Commodore deal addressed the depth issue up front and on the blueline that it might cover up the two sieves.

In my book, Paddock mismanaged his two goalies as you never knew which would start. How's a team supposed to feel comfortable when they don't even know who the No.1 goalie is? It definitely didn't help that he still hadn't made a decision on who it would be for the first round.

While he was toying around which couldn't have been beneficial for team chemistry, teams like the Devils, Penguins and rival Canadiens were getting superior goaltending and picking up more points suddenly creeping back into the race for the conference's top spot and home ice.

Part of what also hurt the Sens was that stars Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson all missed time. As they go, so does the team. The terrific trio is the most lethal scoring line in the game for a reason.

What might be most troubling is that even with all three now finally healthy and contributing, the lack of goaltending continues to plague the Sens. Another red flag had to be the 5-0 drubbing they suffered at the hands of bitter nemesis Toronto. To lose that badly before the deadline at Scotiabank Place to your biggest rival who's not even contending is about as low as it gets.

Why didn't GM Bryan Murray pull the plug then? Instead, he waited another game to see his talented team get blanked a second straight this time 3-0 to surprising Boston, who vaulted ahead of the Rangers for sixth by virtue of one more win and extra games left.

You still look at that Ottawa roster and wonder who's going to beat them in a seven-game series? It all depends on Emery and Gerber. The blueline is certainly solid enough with top defenders Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips. I still wouldn't trust Wade Redden in a big game, especially against a big physical team (see 2007 Cup Final vs Anaheim). Commodore's a good pickup as he plays tough in his end and takes the body.

Forwards such as Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette are vital cause they make things happen. Stillman thus far has fit in. So the scoring should be fine.

Will Murray going back behind the bench be enough to light a spark under his struggling team? Can they just flip the switch? I've seen this before with the 2000-01 Devils. A team so talented that they definitely should've repeated. Not putting away Carolina hurt later on and they never had enough killer instinct to beat the Avalanche.

Are the Sens suffering from the same thing? Just maybe. They still have to go out and perform. The East is much tougher than it looked a couple of months ago. The Habs, Pens and Devs are all capable of going far. Keep an eye on the Rangers too. If they get in, they're very capable of doing something big.

So, am I discounting the Southeast winner? Looks that way. The Canes have shown a lot of heart continuing to win despite all the injuries. You figure it will catch up. Are the Caps ready to take that division? Given all the moves they made, they better. I think they're still another year away.

We're going to find out plenty over the next six weeks. It should be a wild ride. Fasten your seatbelts!

Devs get first win over Isles, Sens rally past Pens

With the playoff race coming down to the critical stretch, there's plenty of action today. What else would ya expect on the final Saturday before the NHL version of a holiday known to puck fans as Deadline Day. It's now less than 48 hours away!

We will provide extensive coverage of all the deals which go down.

There have already been a couple of games of note which affect both the Atlantic and Eastern races. Earlier today, the Devils finally got a win over the Islanders defeating them 4-2 at The Prudential Center to temporarily take over the conference lead with 77 points.

A shorthanded tally by John Madden and a Patrik Elias goal had them out in front 2-1 but the Isles got a tying goal from Ruslan Fedotenko. Faced with the prospect of once again falling short against a division rival from the metro area, the more rested Devs peppered Rick DiPietro in the third outshooting the Fishsticks 20-4.

Not surprisingly, they finally had the magic formula as money player Zach Parise notched the winner 2:30 in for his Devil-leading 25th (fifth in last five contests). Brian Gionta made certain that there was no Isles' comeback by getting to a rebound in front for his third in the last six 2:13 later.

Marty Brodeur didn't have a busy day but was his stellar self turning aside 19 of 21 shots to win his league-leading 34th.

The win had the Devs leading the conference. However, with the Pens hosting the Sens, something had to give and did.

In another unpredictable game which was plenty exciting, the defending Eastern Conference champs showed plenty of resolve coming back from three goals down to pull out a 4-3 overtime road victory over Evgeni Malkin and the Pens.

The Penguins jumped out in front by three thanks to goals from Petr Sykora, Colby Armstrong and Jeff Taffe. But the Sens fought back thanks to a goal from recent pickup Cory Stillman and two from Dany Heatley including the tying marker with 13:51 remaining. HIs 30th came on a nice Randy Robitaille setup in front easily beating Ty Conklin.

The game would wind up in overtime and the Pens would come close to ending it twice. On the first one, Ryan Malone thought he had it won but hit the crossbar. The other was when Malkin came in on a two-on-one and Ray Emery just got a piece of it to push it wide.

The Sens instead would pick up a huge win off a broken play very late. Off a broken play, Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson backhanded his team best 35th through Conklin with only three seconds left to give them a huge win.

It gave Ottawa one more point than the Devils allowing them to stay tops in the conference for the 144th consecutive day according to Hockey Night In Canada (HNIC).

The Pens meanwhile got a point but not the kind they had in mind. They trail the Devils by a point with each team having 20 games to go in the regular season.

For the first time this month, Malkin was held off the scoresheet. He entered leading the league with 82 points (35-47-82) and had points in the first 10 games including a ridiculous eight multi-point nights. It wasn't from lack of effort as maybe the front runner for the Hart Trophy generated plenty of chances. He just couldn't finish.

With the Eastern race extremely close, please note the new Eastern Conference standings at the top left corner of the page. We will be keeping track of everything down the final six weeks.

Be sure to tune in!