The first day of NHL free agency ended the way it began. Like he did on Tuesday, disgruntled Senators forward declined to waive his no-movement clause by midnight eastern on Wednesday in order to facilitate a trade to the Edmonton Oilers. The Senators are now on the hook for the $4 million signing bonus to Heatley.
The Sens had agreed to a deal with the Oilers on Tuesday night that would have sent Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid to Ottawa in exchange for Heatley. He was asked to waive his no-movement clause by the Senators but did not oblige.
Heatley signed a six-year contract with the Senators for $45 million in October of 2007, but recently said he wanted out of Ottawa due to philosophical differences with head coach Cory Clouston.
The 28-year-old is set to earn $7.5 million this season.
Perhaps occupied by the ongoing Heatley saga, the Senators were otherwise relatively quiet on the free agent front compared to their Canadian counterparts, but they did lock up a player that was thought to be possibly heading elsewhere.
Pesky forward Chris Neil opted to stay in Ottawa in the end, signing a four-year, $8 million contract and taking less than he was reportedly offered by the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers.
Neil was selected 161st overall by the Senators in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, and has spent his entire NHL career with the team, amassing 61 goals and 73 assists for 134 points in 511 games.
Meanwhile, as hockey fans from coast to coast celebrated Canada Day on Wednesday, the GMs of the NHL's five other Canadian teams were creating some fireworks of their own as the league's free agent period kicked off.
It was a busy day across the board for squads based north of the border as they re-signed key players, rummaged through the free agent pool looking for deals and picked up players from their rivals.
TSN.ca recaps the moves by Canadian teams as the first day of the free agent frenzy draws to a close.
Swede Deal
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed the cornerstones of their franchise in forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin, securing them with five-year contracts worth $6.1 million per season each.
The duo has recorded 288 goals and 634 assists for 922 points in 1,288 games combined in their NHL careers, which have been spent entirely with Vancouver since being drafted in 1999.
"I think any day that you're heading into free agency and you sign the top two free agents that are out there, it's got to be a pretty good day," said Canucks GM Mike Gillis.
"I think right now it's a positive step for the Canucks and their fans," said NHL on TSN analyst Darren Pang. "I think they're knocking on the door. You have to have consistency there and they certainly have got it now with the Sedins staying there. Both of them are on long-term deals, both of them solidifying the top line. I like the chemistry, I like where they're heading right now."
While the Canucks were able to sign the twins, they did lose long-time defenceman Mattias Ohlund to the Tampa Bay Lightning early in the day. Ohlund holds the franchise records for all-time points and all-time goals by a defenceman. Former backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera also left for the Phoenix Coyotes.
Vancouver re-signed centre Rick Rypien, who had three goals in 12 games with the Canucks in 2008-09, and they inked forward Aaron Rome to a one-year contract worth $550,000. Rome, 25, had one assist in 8 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last year.
Rough and Tumble in T.O.
In Toronto, the Maple Leafs were active on both the free agent and trade fronts, making their biggest splash of the day with the acquisition of free agent defenceman Mike Komisarek.
At 6'4'' and 240 pounds, Komisarek adds some size and toughness to Toronto's blue line. The 27-year-old had two goals and nine assists in 66 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season, earning himself a spot in the NHL All-Star game.
A native of West Islip, New York, Komisarek was drafted by Montreal seventh overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He has 12 goals and 46 assists for 58 points in 361 career regular season games, all with the Habs.
Toronto also made a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers, swapping defenceman Pavel Kubina and the rights to forward Tim Stapleton for defenceman and tough guy Garnet Exelby, as well as forward Colin Stuart.
Earlier in the day, the Leafs signed tough guy forward Colton Orr, a Winnipeg native who racked up 193 penalty minutes in 82 games with the New York Rangers last campaign, including 18 fighting majors.
There was little doubt that, by day's end, Leafs GM Brian Burke had made an impression by adding some grit to a Leafs' roster that was perceived to be a bit soft last season.
"That big Irish footprint is now on the Toronto Maple Leafs," NHL on TSN analyst Pierre McGuire said. "They needed to identify the need for toughness, they did that. They also needed to add some depth on the back end, they did that especially with Michael Komisarek, and one of the more underrated guys in Garnet Exelby. Identifying that need for toughness has allowed their building process to go forward."
Getting in the Habit
The Montreal Canadiens also made some waves on July 1st, locking up sniper centre Mike Cammalleri with a five-year, $30 million contract. The 27-year-old had 39 goals and 43 assists with the Calgary Flames last season.
The Habs also snagged forwards Brian Gionta, a former New Jersey Devil who spent several seasons with Scott Gomez, who was acquired by the Habs on June 30th in a trade that saw Chris Higgins go to the New York Rangers. No doubt Canadiens GM Bob Gainey is hoping the pair will rekindle the chemistry they shared as teammates in 2005-06, when both players put up career-high numbers (Gomez 33 goals 51 assists, Gionta 48 goals, 41 assists).
Gainey said the acquisition of Gomez may have also played a role in luring other players to the Canadiens.
"We have a player who is a No. 1 centre and without the trade, I think we wouldn't have been able to be as aggressive or as attractive to those other players," Gainey said.
Cammalleri's comments echoed that sentiment.
"I saw the transaction with Scott and that move made Montreal more attractive," he said. "He's a highly skilled player...I hope we can build some chemistry togther."
Gainey seemed aware of the fact that he wasn't exactly adding tremendous size to his roster - Gomez is 5'11, Gionta is 5'7 and Cammalleri is 5'9 - but he acknowledged that and
"We're going to have to play big and smart, but this was a day where you had to grab talent where you can," Gainey said. "There are other teams that don't have anyone to announce."
The Canadiens also added 35-year-old Czech defenceman Jaroslav Spacek, who had 45 points in 80 games with the Buffalo Sabres last season, and acquired 6'7'' blueliner Hal Gill, who had 10 points in 62 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season en route to earning a Stanley Cup ring.
Lighting the Fire
Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames officially announced the addition of defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. The 25-year-old blueliner had 15 goals and 27 assists with the Florida Panthers last season, and adds to an already-solid Flames' defensive core of Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr.
"That's what was one of the things that was real attractive here," Bouwmeester said of joining the sturdy Calgary blue line. "You look at the solid group of guys they already have...It seemed like it would be an easy place to slide in and hopefully have some success."
The Flames also added forward Fredrik Sjostrom, signing him to a 2-year, $1.5 million contract. Sjostrom had seven goals and six assists with the New York Rangers last season.
They also re-signed forward David Moss and defenceman Adam Pardy.
In The Nik Of Time
The Edmonton Oilers were looking for a number one goaltender and they found him in veteran keeper Nikolai Khabibulin. The 36-year-old spent the last four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, helping the team to its first playoff appearance since 1995 last season.
"Nikolai is a world-class goaltender who has proven himself throughout his career as one of the best in the game," said Oilers GM Steve Tambellini in a press release.
The team also signed forward Jason Strudwick, who had two goals and seven assists with the Edmonton Oilers last season. Strudwick turns 34 on July 17.