Scott Gomez has been dealt to Montreal in a six-player trade that includes the rights to winger Chris Higgins.

UPDATED, 5:31 P.M.: I’ve been told that Heatley is coming to the Rangers tonight. Not sure what the Rangers are giving up to get him,…

Just as Head Coach John Tortorella was named Associate Coach of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team yester, three of his players were named to the camp roster today. Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, and Ryan Callahan were among the 34…

Day 2 at the developmental camp, and it was a lot like Day 1: plenty of skating, plenty of heavy legs and pained faces.

Meanwhile, it’s decision day in Ottawa, which resonates all the way to Westchester County, where Ranger brass is meeting behind closed doors and the name Dany Heatley no doubt has bounced off the walls. If Heatley isn’t traded today, the Sens owe him the $4 million payment they’re desperate to avoid. Bryan Murray says he’s under no pressure to deal Heatley if he’s uncomfortable with the offers he’s getting, and that he won’t rule out simply bringing Heatley back next season. Yeah, right.

What’s it going to take for the Rangers to get a deal done for the two-time 50-goal scorer? For one thing, they need to move some money the other way, but they can still afford to come out a little behind because acquiring Heatley would go a long way toward addressing one of their most dire needs. If Michal Rozsival ($5 million cap hit) is included in an offer with either Brandon Dubinsky or Ryan Callahan plus a draft pick, the Sens can bellyache all they want about not wanting Rozsival, but we’ll see then how desperate they are to be rid of Heatley ($7.5 million cap hit). If the Sens prefer to substitute Scott Gomez (7.35 cap hit) for Rozsival in that offer, with five more years on his deal to Rozsival’s three? That might get it done too. Nik Zherdev, who just received a $3.25 million qualifying offer, is another name in the mix.

The advantage the Rangers have is that Ottawa finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place (the rock being Heatley’s demand to be dealt so soon after signing a six-year extension, the hard place being this $4 million payment that’s due so soon after his trade request). They must get rid of this player and have every incentive to do it today, before they have to fork over another barrel of money. The suitors apparently are fading out and leaving the door open for the Blueshirts. The Sens may be in nothing more than a staring contest, and not blinking will cost them $4 million. Stay tuned.

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More Ranger names on USA Hockey’s list: Gomez, Callahan and Chris Drury were among the 34 players invited to the United States’ Olympic orientation camp, which runs Aug. 17-19 in suburban Chicago. John Tortorella will be there as one of Ron Wilson’s assistant coaches, along with Isles coach Scott Gordon - those two were named yesterday.

Gomez played for Team USA at the Turin Games in 2006, while Drury is a two-time Olympian (Turin 2006 and Salt Lake City 2002, where he won a silver medal).

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First-round draft pick Chris Kreider called the bag skates Tortorella is putting the prospect through “a huge eye opener … a great experience and a great step toward BC in the fall.” As long as he doesn’t forget how to handle a puck.

Kreider said the calls and text messages came flooding in from his Andover classmates and teammates when the Rangers picked him on Friday night, but that “my mom wasn’t too happy about it because we were in Canada, so we were roaming.”

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With free agency starting tomorrow, here’s agent Mark Gandler on Nik Antropov returning to Broadway: “You see what they’ve got with respect to cap space. It’s just unrealistic for them to sign Nik. … The object is not to sign with the Rangers, the object is to sign in the NHL. He’s a free agent and he’s going to get the most money he can get.”

John Tortorella will run his first training camp as Rangers head coach in September, and youngsters at this week’s Prospect Development Camp are already getting a taste of what Tortorella will expect from the players when the main camp begins. 

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft is over, and the Rangers came away with seven prospects for the years ahead. After Chris Kreider was picked Friday, the Blueshirts took Ethan Werek (above) in Round 2 and Ryan Bourque in Round 3. See the picks here.  

MSG Networks are helping viewers beat the summer heat with a lineup of hockey programming including three new series and a half-hour special. The programming kicks off on MSG on Wednesday, July 1 at 7 p.m. with “Rangers Classics,” foll…

Greenburgh, NY - Day 1 of the Rangers prospect camp at the MSG Training Center was all about one aspect of the game: conditioning. In attendance at the camp included Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella, General Manager Glen Sather, and…

You asked, and Rangers head coach John Tortorella responded. On Monday, shortly after he was named a Team USA Olympic assistant, Tortorella fielded five questions from the fans submitted here on newyorkrangers.com. Check out his answers.