I also wanted the drama surrounding cranky pants Dany Heatley to be resolved so that we could move on but, so far, nothing has worked.  He asked to be traded but when the Edmonton Oilers expressed their interest, he refused to waive his no-movement clause (despite meeting with them on Wednesday night) and now the Ottawa Senators will have to pay him a $4 million dollar bonus. 

Why would a player who wants to leave his team so badly refuse an offer?  Because the Oilers weren’t on his “wish list.”  He told Ottawa General Manager Bryan Murray that he wanted to go to either any of the following teams: New York Rangers, San Jose, Boston, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Detroit, Calgary and Chicago.

I’m guessing he doesn’t realize that most of these teams don’t have room for him under the salary cap since he’s still got five years left on his contract which is worth $37.5 million.  That’s a lot to ask.

I agree with TSN’s Bob McKenzie – this thing could really get ugly.  I don’t know what the Sens are going to do with this since it’s almost a lose-lose situation for the team.  They will lose $4 million even if he leaves and, if he stays, he could be a liability if he’s genuinely unhappy.

What do you think of the Heatley situation?

image: TSN

Dany Heatley has reportedly asked the Ottawa Senators to trade him and I can’t say that I blame him.  The main issue, though, is that he signed a six-year, $45 million contract extension and he’s only completed one year of it.  The deal also includes a no-movement clause.

Where is Heatley in such a rush to go?  Apparently, he’s got his eyes on the Edmonton Oilers and other reports that I have read this morning mention that he might go to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Dion Phaneuf. 

I think he’d be a better fit in Edmonton than here in Calgary and, despite how Phaneuf has been playing lately, I’d hate to see him traded to Ottawa.

The 28-year-old was unhappy with last year’s coaching change and his reduction in ice time.

image: TSN

Mike Comrie has been hanging out with his girlfriend, Hilary Duff, at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.  With the Ottawa Senators out of the playoffs, he definitely has a lot of extra time on his hands…

image: TSN

The couple talked to Us magazine about their relationship.  “It’s always fun watching her work” Comrie said. “We have fun.  We both live such different lives, but its always fun to support each other and spend time when we get to.  If it’s worth it, you make it work.”

Duff added: “It’s natural for us, which I think is great. I think that we both have busy jobs, and we’re both very focused people, so that helps, too. Since we are apart so much, its not like one person is at home waiting for the other.”

I think it’s great that these two have been able to make it work because I know that a long-distance relationship can be very hard.  Maybe now that the season is over for Comrie, they’ll be able to be together more often.

It was an amazing night for the Columbus Blue Jackets who made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history after a 4-3 SO win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

image: TSN.ca

It has been almost nine years since the Blue Jackets were added to the NHL and I’m sure this victory was sweet since they were the only active team to have never qualified for the postseason.  They only needed one point to secure the playoff spot.  “To get that one point was huge, to come back after being down 2-0,” Rick Nash said. “To get the win was even more important. We’re going to try to win these last two games to keep our position in the standings. I don’t know if it’s quite sunk in yet. We’re so used to playing out the season.”

There are only four playoff berths remaining but the Blackhawks also need a single point to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2002 (and only its second in 11 seasons).

I’m glad the Calgary Flames traded Kristian Huselius to them because he really had lost his game and it seems like he’s back to playing the way that he should.  Of course, rookie goaltender, Steve Mason, is making a huge impact despite suffering for a while with mononucleosis.  Will he lead this team to the finals in his first year in the NHL the way Cam Ward did for the Carolina Hurricanes?  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

After losing to the Florida Panthers last night, the Ottawa Senators officially have no chance of making the Stanley Cup playoffs.

image: Newscom

The disappointing 5-2 loss, combined with the fact that the Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks (4-1) meant that the Habs are a point ahead of the Sens and currently sit in the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.  “It’s not something that snuck up on us,” Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson said. “We’ve known this situation for a long time. Our focus hasn’t been only on trying to get into the playoffs, it’s been on turning things around, which we definitely have, and now it’s a matter of trying to keep our momentum and keep playing. Even though we didn’t win today, we did a lot of great things and we’ve got to keep that going until the end of the season.”

Rookie goaltender, Brian Elliott, made 17 saves and Ottawa coach, Cory Clouston, had the following to say: “There are a couple of goals he probably should have had, the second one and even the third one. Even though there was some traffic, he opened himself up and it just went right through him. He’s a young guy, still growing, still has things he has to overcome.”

The loss has got to be tough for the Sens since they did seem to be getting their game together recently and had won 10 out of 13 of their last games.  “It’s a very small margin sometimes,” Alfredsson said. “That was probably the heartbreaker for us.”

Tough break.

Singer, Hilary Duff, the girlfriend of Ottawa Senators player, Mike Comrie, was recently interviewed and spoke a bit about hockey.  She mentions that she has become a hockey fan but can’t always follow the action because the game moves so fast.

image: Newscom

She went totally girly on us when she said that, after Comrie was traded from the New York Islanders to the Sens, it was strange to see him playing in “a different outfit.”  She did point out something interesting, though.  She explained that, as a singer, she has performed at many of the arenas where Mike plays but that the experience is totally different – she’ll ask if he’s going to rehearsal and he’ll say “no, I’m going to practice.”  Still, it’s cool that they have that in common.

On a final note, she did also reveal that Comrie is super happy to be playing in Canada again because the “fans are unreal” and that he feels like he’s “playing hockey again.”  Wow.  New York fans are pretty intense too but I guess I know what he means.

Talk about desperate.  Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Ron Wilson, actually asked officials to measure Jason Spezza’s hockey stick (with just over 2 minutes left in the game) knowing that it would give his team a power-play during their loss against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.  "Our players competed like heck," said Wilson. "I wanted at the end to give our guys a chance to win, they tried so hard. The guy is using a stick that’s not only illegal but dangerous. I had an opportunity to call it, so I did… Unfortunately, our power play stunk so what are you going to do?" said Wilson.

I’m not going to lie, though, I laughed out loud when I saw Spezza trying to swap his stick around the 51 second mark.  Even better, around 1:40 it showed a replay of the moment when Spezza realized what was happening.  He actually drops his blade to the ice and steps on it, in an attempt to break it before the refs catch it.  Watch this:

Officials found that the blade on Spezza’s stick was below regulation as it approached the toe. "Real dangerous, I guess," said an annoyed Spezza sarcastically. "They told me (the blade) was too skinny. I shave them down to be skinnier."

It’s rare for a team to draw a penalty based on illegal sticks which brings up the question of whether people even care since almost no coaches call players out for using them.  I’d like to know what you think?  Was Wilson justified or was this just lame?

The Ottawa Senators have given defenceman, Filip Kuba, a 3-year contract extension worth $3.7 million per season.  Had the Sens not worked out a deal, Kuba would have become an unrestricted free-agent this summer.  He had also waived the no-trade clause earlier this week in case he wasn’t offered an extension by the Sens. 

Kuba has two goals and 27 assists in 54 games this season and is considered a power-play specialist. 

image: TSN

Could this be good news for the Ottawa Senators?  For their sake, I hope so.  It’s been announced that the New York Islanders have traded Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli to the Sens in exchange for veteran centre Dean McAmmond and the Sharks’ first-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (via a different trade). 

The Sens could really use a boost at this point.  They were just getting on a roll when team captain, Daniel Alfredsson fractured his jaw, and things just have been really off-course for the club these past couple seasons. 

I’m hoping Comrie can just pick up where he left off since this is his second time dressing for Ottawa.  Of the situation, the 28-year-old said: ”I played in Ottawa before and I know what’s at stake and what it’s like.  It’s an exciting place to play and a great group of guys and I’m obviously thrilled about the opportunity to play on a great team.”

Mike Comrie is dating Hilary Duff and it’s rumored that his new teammate, Mike Fisher, has been getting cosy with country music star, Carrie Underwood.  Just sayin’…

image: TSN

Daniel Alfredsson suffered a small fracture in his jaw after he was hit by a puck during Tuesday night’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche.  It’s unclear how long the Ottawa Senators will be without their captain.  "It’s a fracture, it’s just has to heal," said Alfredsson on Thursday morning. "I need time away from contact for a little bit."  Uh yeah, I can’t imagine that it would be good for him to take a hit to the face at this point. 

The timing kinda sucks, though, since the Sens have finally started to look alive these past couple weeks (they’ve won five of their last six games) so, hopefully, that will be enough momentum to keep them going during Alfredsson’s absence.

image: TSN