NHL Notebook: Sharks GM's Job Depends on Heatley

Saturday, September 19, 2009

By Tim Panaccio
CSNPhilly.com

This one isn’t tough to figure out.

Now that Dany Heatley has been traded to San Jose, if the Sharks don’t reverse their long history of playoff failure, it will cost general manager Doug Wilson his job.

Book ‘em, Dano!

Few teams in the NHL wanted any part of the spoiled winger Heatley, who put Ottawa GM Bryan Murray in a no-win situation with his persistent trade demands this summer.

The Senators, who have fallen into the great abyss since their 2007 Stanley Cup Final appearance against Anaheim, had to make a decision: risk Heatley acting as a “cancer” in the dressing room, or air mail his skates elsewhere.

No one questions Heatley’s ability as a two-time 50-goal guy. Yet his off-ice problems and sulking demeanor – in both Atlanta and Ottawa – marked him as too risky for most NHL clubs.

Geography will benefit Heatley.

Much like Atlanta, he can slip out the back door in San Jose into the Northern California lifestyle in virtual obscurity. For sure, he’s not instantly recognizable like Jeremy Roenick, strolling through North Beach in San Francisco.

But alas, the poor Senators didn’t get fair value in return for Heatley. They were offered 29-year-old right wing Jonathan Cheechoo, a 50-goal scorer four seasons ago, and 24-year-old left winger Milan Michalek.

Then again, Ottawa wasn’t dealing from a position of strength. When a player forces a trade, the club initiating the deal almost always draws from the bottom of the deck.

“We’re completely comfortable with the type of player Dany is, and more importantly, with the type of person he is,” Wilson told reporters. “There are often cases where players have asked for trades. ... Sometimes, it is best for everybody involved. We have zero concerns about that.”

What Wilson should be concerned about, however, is his job. The Sharks have greatly underachieved in recent years, even with the presence of Joe Thornton. They’ve been expected to challenge or outright win the Cup, but have faltered in the playoffs.

Look at the number of big-time players who have passed through the doors in San Jose, guys management felt would provide the glue to hold pieces together in winning a Cup:  Thornton, J.R., Rob Blake, Dan Boyle, Bill Guerin, Brian Campbell.

And now Heatley.

At Team Canada’s Olympic Orientation camp in August, Heatley was on Thornton’s line with Patrick Marleau.

“We were all kind of joking, ‘Heater, you’ve been rumored to come here all summer long, this could be a potential line set for us,’” Thornton told the San Jose Mercury. “We were just kind of saying how nice it would be.”

We’ll know by next June how nice it turned out.

Turned veggie
Whodathunk it? Montreal’s tough guy Georges Laraque has become a vegetarian. Since last June, he’s been eating nothing but fruits, grains and veggies. He said, however, this is about making a political statement – and not about health.

“It’s unconscionable what’s happening to animals in this country and the way we treat animals we eat,” he said. “I realized I had to make some big changes.”

Wonder what he thinks of Michael Vick…

Still got it
L.A. Kings coach (and former Flyers coach) Terry Murray was on the ice 8 hours, 25 minutes last Sunday at training camp. Talk about an Iron Man coach.

“I [last] did it when I was 11 years old playing pond hockey in somebody’s backyard,” Murray said.

The great embarrassment
It’s on the Phoenix Coyotes. Wayne Gretzky hasn’t been at training camp while the team is in bankruptcy because he is part-owner – and his $8 million contract is in limbo until the court decides who’s responsible for it.

The NHL reportedly wanted him to sign a new, rather reduced deal. Regardless, the league said, nothing was stopping Gretzky from showing up and reporting for work. Nothing but pride, of course.

75 years
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association is celebrating his 75th anniversary this month. It named its all-time team, which included officials. 

South Jersey NHL referee Kerry Fraser (from Sarnia), who will hang up his skates after this season, was among those named among those officials, along with Bill McCreary (Guelph) and Ray Scapinello (Guelph).

A pretty good team was chosen. Among the players: Gretzky (Brantford), Syl Apps (Paris), Bobby Orr (Parry Sound), Rob Blake (Simcoe) and Roger Neilson (Peterborough).

Trying to make it
Ex-Flyer good guy Ryan Potulny reportedly is buried deep in the Edmonton Oilers’ depth chart this fall, even though he scored 38 goals for a poor Springfield club last season – putting him among the top five in the AHL.

“Personally it was a good year, but it was still tough,” Potulny said. “It doesn’t matter how good of a year you had personally, it’s still tough when your team is struggling. You try to do everything you can to turn things around, but we just couldn’t do it last year in Springfield. Individual success is one thing, but everybody wants team success.”

As for his chances making the Oilers, Potulny said, “Obviously there are a few guys here trying to plead their case. There are a lot of forwards here. Someone is going to have to stand out, do something special in the preseason to make the team.”

What have you done lately?
That appears to be the theme at Ducks camp. Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller may have carried his team last spring, but it’s a clean slate in training camp with Jean-Sebastien Giguere, according to Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. 

“Both players have been informed that it’s not a given here,” Carlyle said. “You have to go out and earn it.”

Hiller’s reaction? “I wasn’t expecting that spot here in Anaheim,” he said. “I always try to do my best. If I play better than all the other guys here, then hopefully I can get that No. 1 job. But I know it’s a lot of work and the expectations are higher than last year for myself.”

He’s back
Theo Fleury, that is, and with just 8 percent body fat – an impressive number at age 41. Fleury is participating in camp with Calgary, trying to make a comeback. 

“Lots of people will be watching,” said Flames winger Jarome Iginla. “You guys will be watching. We’ll be watching.” Hey, the hockey world will be watching.

Better fit
Petr Sykora might be just that in Minnesota, even though there were rumors that the Czech forward would end up at Flyers camp. Were it not for some serious shoulder injuries that ruined his involvement in the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run last spring, Sykora might have had a gaggle of free agent offers, given his 25 goals. The 32-year-old also had 10 game-winners in Pittsburgh

“Obviously last year’s playoffs didn’t help, but I felt it was one of the best seasons I actually played,” he said. “I’m not going to go out and score 25 goals,” he said. “I need the players who will give me the puck. When I went through the lineup, there’s a few guys here who can feed the puck. I think without those players, goal scorers can’t get chances.”

Not ‘Wild’ about tickets
That’s the story in Minnesota, which goes into the season with the longest home sellout streak – 365 games. But alas, it may come to an end this season, as the Wild have leftover tickets for every game this season.

“We have struggled to renew season tickets in the same way we always do, which is 95 percent-plus,” said COO Matt Majka. “That’s a pretty high standard to live up to, and we’re not far off of that. But we are down a bit. If this economy claims the sellout streak as a victim, that’s OK. We’d be disappointed, but we’re not immune to what’s going on out there, and we accept that.”

Quotable
New Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner snubbed reporters after getting roughed-up in practice by teammate Colin White with this line: “I’m not going to answer any of your dumb questions.”

Loose pucks
• Former Flyers defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who was seen working out at Skate Zone this summer, signed a one-year deal worth $2.25 million with Florida.

• The NHL and the NHLPA, in conjunction with the Kraft Hockeyville celebration taking place in British Columbia, donated $10,000 worth of hockey equipment to KidSport British Columbia.

• Fred Cusick, who was behind the Boston Bruins’ mic on radio and television for more than 40 years, died at the age of 90 this week. His greatest call? Easy. Bobby Orr’s flying exclamation point against St. Louis on the Cup-clinching, overtime goal in 1970.

• Bret Hedican retired at 39. The 17-year NHL veteran won a Cup in Carolina (2006) and leaves as a Minnesota Wild retiree. His only regret? He wanted to retire as a Cane, he said.

• Bad news for the Devils: Patrick Elias will miss three-to-six weeks to begin the season after undergoing groin surgery this past week here in Philly.

• This really makes the NHLPA look bad: The player reps fire union chief Paul Kelly in the middle of the night, try to discredit him publicly and fail, thereby incurring widespread wrath across North America. However, the Hockey Hall of Fame obviously feels Kelly is a worthwhile individual. They’ve asked him to remain on its board of directors. Kelly agreed. Ironically, Chris Chelios, who wasn’t part of the coup to oust Kelly – but engineered the one against Ted Saskin – is reportedly trying to have Kelly reinstated for the good of the game.

• The Commish, Gary Bettman, still thinks Phoenix is a viable hockey market, even during this protracted bankruptcy debacle. The Coyotes had a scrimmage at Jobing.com Arena this week against LA., and attendance was estimated at a few dozen people. Not thousands – a few dozen! The Great One, of course, was not among them.

• Finally, the Islanders have been a running disaster for a while now. Just this summer, they fired their radio broadcast crew in favor of simulcasting off TV. Given the team is virtually guaranteed to finish dead last in the Atlantic Division – even with rookie John Tavares – you’d think the Isles would want to curry favor with fans. Think again. The club has closed its practices this season to the public at Syosset, explaining that the players need to “focus.” Focus? On what? Empty seats at Nassau Coliseum every game?

This story contains material from the, Associated Press,  Boston Globe,  Calgary Herald,, Canadian Press, CBS Sportsline.com, CKAC radio in Montreal, Edmonton Sun,  ESPN.com, The Hockey News, Los Angeles Times,  Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Star-Ledger, Ottawa Sun, San Jose Mercury News, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star,  TSN.ca, and other news services.

E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.