Silver Nuggets: An Executive Leadership Team, a mock draft, and draft parties

How awkward is it going to be for Chris Kelly at a draft party with fans when he gets traded in the Heatley package? Crickets. I’m thinking Murray pulls a trick out of the John Muckler basket and throws in the $2.2M salary at the last minute, à la Greg deVries. Where’s the Mike Comrie/Mike Fisher/Hilary Duff/Carrie Underwood draft party? All the more reason for a trade for Phaneuf and Elisha Cuthbert, I guess. We might not score goals on the ice, but…

This would be an Ideal trade for me, as Ottawa and Boston are two of my favorite teams!

Ottawa Sends:
Dany Heatley
Jason Smith
2009 2nd round pick OR Alexandre Picard
(Total of a $10.1 mil cap hit combined, $10.9 with Picard)

Boston Sends:
Dennis Wideman
Patrice Bergeron
Phil Kessel
(Widemen and Bergeron combine for a 7.625 cap hit. Kessel is an RFA and would require a new contract, which the Sens would surely have some room to give him a pretty nice raise.)

In receiving Heatley, Boston will finally have a recognized sniper to receive Marc Savard’s passes. They could easily both crack 100-points apiece if they work well together. In Jason Smith, they recieve a reliable shutdown D-man who isn’t afraid to take the body and also does well on the Penalty Kill. However, given Smith’s health, this could be a risky return for Boston (This is primarily a salary dump on Ottawa’s part). He does have the potential to form a formidable shutdown pair with Aaron Ward. If Picard is included, Boston receives a developing puck-moving defender that has shown signs of promise over the past couple of seasons. Boston also avoids an extension for Phil Kessel, and with players such as P.J. Axelsson and Mark Recchi unlikely to return next season, Boston might have some room to sign another significant top-nine forward or puck-moving defender. If not Picard, either of Ottawa’s 2nd round picks (39th or 48th overall) could be thrown in instead.

Ottawa receives a developing star-player in Phil Kessel, a 36 goal-scorer last season who is still developing. He could easily find his way onto the first line. The real treasure of this deal, surprisingly, would be Dennis Wideman. He has developed into a great offensive d-man and would surely become Ottawa’s top defender. This would give Ottawa a much more potent powerplay unit and would make their backend much better overall. Lastly, Patrice Bergeron is thrown in to make the deal more practical in terms of salary. While he has struggled since returning from last years serious injury, he still put up 8 goals and 39 points. There is a good possibility that he could reach higher totals next season.

As a huge fan of both teams, I would simply love for this deal to actually happen. The biggest reason that this won’t happen, as it has been stated constantly in numerous outlets, is that this would be a tremendous trade for interdivisional rivals. These kind of trades usually take place outside of the conference, let alone the division. Yet, I wish that this would happen, as I see it as a benefit for both clubs in significant ways.

Anybody have an opinion about this? Let me know!