4th Edition:5+Game

5+Game with Danny Boome 14 /09/09

5+ Game with Danny Boome is the new Article and Blog for Powerplay magazine.  The article will cover the 5 main events of the week – games, trades, players, coaches – and anything else that affects the NHL community.

To join 5+Game’s online community, go to 5+Game on Facebook or follow 5+GAME on twitter.  Your views are welcome!  The 5+Game Blog will also have daily updates and film clips of the NHL week as it unravels.

Months of speculation and an instinctive hunch turns into a blockbuster deal, former legend Fleury gets his second chance, Preds owner is going to Jail, a new super training centre for the Leafs and training camp gets underway!  This is your 5+Game.

Don’t miss this week’s 5+Game Video Blog on www.dannyboome.tv or join the 5+Game group on Facebook!

1.Block Buster Deal (Heatley): 5+Game called it and this week it finally happened! After months of speculation, an increasingly disgruntled hockey community and only one firm offer, Dany Heatley got his long awaited trade to San Jose.  The Sharks now have what could be one of the most threatening offensive lines in the NHL when Heatley joins fellow power forward and team Canada prospect Joe Thornton.  This blockbuster deal sent Heatley and a fifth-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft to the Sharks and netted Ottawa Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round 2010 pick.  I now want to make it a brace of predictions: Boston’s Phil Kessel will go to Toronto by the end of the week!  Though Nashville threw their hat into the ring, the Leafs are definitely the better suitor.

2.Come Back Kid: Calgary confirmed that they invited Theo Fleury to attend their training camp, which begins Saturday, on a tryout basis. “Once we determined that Theoren was training to our standards and the league permitted his return to on-ice competition, it wasn’t a hard decision for us to provide him with this opportunity,” general manager Darryl Sutter said in a statement.  “In the history of our franchise, he is among the top players all-time and regardless of what happens he can finish as an active player.”

Fleury lives in Calgary and played 11 seasons with the Flames.  His last season was with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2002-03, after which he was suspended indefinitely for violating the NHL’s substance abuse policy.  The NHL and NHL Players’ Association granted Fleury reinstatement late Thursday.  “I know Theo pretty well,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in Phoenix. “We had spent some time together when things in his life were a little less settled. Seeing him last night, he looked terrific, he sounded terrific, he seems to be in a good place, he’s been sober for a number of years.”

“I hope he can fulfill his dream and come back.”

3.Preds Owner doing time: A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Silicon Valley financier William “Boots” Del Biaggio III to more than eight years in prison for bilking investors and banks — including one he helped launch — out of millions of dollars in a desperate attempt to buy a pro hockey team.  The disgraced scion of a prominent San Jose family is to report to prison in January, capping a long fall for a former high roller who counted hockey great Mario Lemieux as a golfing buddy and who jetted on private planes to Las Vegas, where he amassed a $4 million gambling debt.  Del Biaggio pleaded guilty to one charge of forging financial documents to obtain $110 million in loans from several banks and two NHL owners — Craig Leopold of the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings owner AEG.  Del Biaggio used the money to purchase a controlling interest in the Nashville Predators.  On Tuesday, while his parents and friends looked on, Del Biaggio tearfully apologized and vowed to pay back everyone.

“I was blinded by pride and ego,” he said. “Everyone makes mistakes. I will come back from this and I refuse to let this define my life.”

4.Leafs New Pad(s): This week the Toronto Maple Leafs opened their new training facilities, The Master Card Centre of Excellence.  Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment unveiled the 24,150 square-meter facility Tuesday, which will serve as the practice centre for both the Maple Leafs and the AHL’s Marlies.  The facility features four NHL-sized rinks, one of which can be expanded to Olympic size.

5.Training Camp Opens: All 30 NHL clubs begin training camp this week and there are lots of new faces joining last season’s core groups – and everyone will be working hard to make the final 30 man roster to start the season in October. Check out the Full Camp prospectus @ 5+Game on www.dannyboome.tv.

Game:

Game On! Pre-season games start Wednesday.  Rookies get their chance to play with the big club and some vets are really going to have to fight for their spots, as the league continues to get younger and faster!

Who’s got Game? Tim Thomas, Boston’s goalie and all around super nice guy brought something different to the NHL media week.  Ignoring his PR training, he gave some fun and entertaining answers.  Note to NHL: we need more personalities; so let the players shine a bit!

Who’s not got Game? Is Wayne Gretzky still the head coach of Phoenix?  He hasn’t showed up for camp! “His position with us is to be determined,” Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said Saturday. “He’s the head coach right now. Given the timing of the court date and the lack of a decision on ownership, Wayne thought it was better to sit back for a few days and evaluate.” Ulf Samuelsson will serve as the team’s acting coach until Gretzky’s ultimate status is determined, Maloney said.

What Game are you playing at? As the world turns, with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Check out this weeks Video Clips and News in the 5+Game Blog on www.dannyboome.tv and the 5+Game Face Book Group.

The information statistics and subject matter of articles is sourced from the official NHL web site NHL.com and it’s archives. The Hockey News.com, Yahoo Sports.com and ESPN.com. Research and quotations can at times come from other independent associated press.