The Dany Heatley trade saga is finally over. 

After months of speculation since news Heatley requested a trade from the Ottawa Senators broke in mid-June, including a failed early July deal with the Edmonton Oilers, the Senators dealt the disgruntled winger along with a fifth round pick to the San Jose Sharks. 

Heading to the Senators are forwards Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo plus a second round pick.

The Sharks were long rumored as the potential destination for Heatley, having been listed among the eight teams on his "wish list" of preferred destinations, but were the only club seen as having any real interest in getting a deal done over the course of the summer.

It took weeks however due in part to Heatley's large salary ($7.5 million per season) and the asking price

Ottawa Senators defenseman Jason Smith called a press conference today where he announced his retirement as an NHL player after fourteen NHL seasons and over 1,000 regular season games. 

Smith, 35, played for the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers before signing with the Senators in 2008. 

Known as a defensive blueliner he compiled career totals of 41 goals, 169 point and a plus-minus of +26. 

In his prime Smith was considered among the best shutdown defensemen in the game, and was captain of the Edmonton Oilers from 2001 to 2007. 

With his retirement the Senators will be much-needed cap relief for the upcoming season, as it will remove the $2.6 million he was owed for the upcoming season off their books. 

It's possible

Since Ottawa Senators winger Dany Heatley surprised the NHL world with his mid-June request for a trade he'd been the main topic of discussion throughout this summer's hockey rumor mill.

With only weeks to go until the start of the Senators training camp the speculation suggests the Senators will have to move Heatley before then or risk his trade request becoming an unwelcome distraction for management, head coach Cory Clouston (who is believed the reason behind Heatley's request) and the players. 

But can Heatley be moved before mid-September?

In the "good old days", before the salary cap and "no-movement" clauses, the answer would've been a definite 'yes'. Players of Heatley talent (former two-time 50-goal scorer) are highly prized and despite being branded as selfish by the media

The Dallas Stars addressed their need for a quality backup goaltender for Marty Turco today while the Ottawa Senators free up some valuable cap space, as the Senators shipped goaltender Alex Auld to the Stars in exchange for a sixth round pick (originally owned by the San Jose Sharks) in the 2010 entry draft. 

Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk wasted little time landing Auld, coming one day after losing out in the bidding for Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson. 

Auld, 29, has been a career backup and had a pretty good season with a struggling Senators team in 2008-09, with a 16-18-1 record in 41 games, posting a .911 save percentage and a 2.48 goals against average. 

He's used to playing twenty or more games in a backup role, which will be invaluable in spelling off

Some Montreal Canadiens fans this past weekend staged a rally outside the Bell Centre in Montreal demanding their club re-sign winger Alex Kovalev. 

Their cries fell on deaf ears as today the Ottawa Senators signed Kovalev to a two-year contract worth $5 million per season 

It's an interesting move by the Senators as they're currently embroiled in a stand-off with left wing Dany Heatley, who's demanded a trade but only to a select list of teams. 

There was talk the stand-off could impact potential free agent moves by Senators general manager Bryan Murray as the club has limited cap space and would need to move Heatley's salary if Murray had any plans of dipping into this summer's free agent pool. 

Kovalev's $5 million per season bites deeply into the Senators remaining