As NHL teams head to camp, several blockbuster trades apparently are still in discussion.

Phil Kessel is the hottest topic. The Bruins haven’t been able to lock him into a new contract. Boston lacks salary cap flexibility, so Kessel has been the subject of trade rumors for months.

Some observers insist on linking the Blues to Kessel, but Toronto appears to be a far likelier destination. By reacquiring its second-round pick for 2010, the Leafs now have the compensation to pay for signing (and getting) Kessel as a restricted free agent.

If Toronto signs Kessel to an offer sheet, Boston would be unlikely to match it – given those cap concerns. The Bruins would get first-, second- and third-round draft picks.

And Toronto would get a potential long-term scorer without giving up anybody on its roster. “I’ve got nothing to say about any of it,’’ said Leafs GM Brian Burke told the Boston Globe. “Sorry, I’m just not going to go there.’’

The Bruins could make a preemptive move by dealing Kessel to the Rangers or Predators.

Dany Heatley remains a hot topic, too. Ottawa GM Bryan Murray doesn’t want to give away this 50-goal scorer, but doesn’t want him to become a nagging distraction either.

Rumors linked Heatley to the Sharks for several months, it could take a three-way trade to make it work. And three-way trades are tough to pull off.

“I don’t know if I should be any different than I have all along,” Murray told the Ottawa Sun. “It certainly hasn’t helped him to have (the trade demand) out there all summer. It hasn’t helped anybody, the team or him. I don’t know if I can say I am overly optimistic because we’ve had the same conversation with people all summer.”

Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson that dealing Heatley would be ideal.

“Obviously, it would be the best scenario for everybody,” he told reporters. “But if it were that easy, something would have already been done. We’re ready for whatever happens and make something good out of it.”

AROUND THE RINKS: By getting its second round pick back, Toronto is also free to bid on restricted free agents like Brandon Dubinsky and Drew Stafford. This can’t make the Rangers and Sabres, respectively, feel very comfortable . . . The Red Wings will take a look at veteran goaltender Dan Cloutier in camp. He is a longshot, of course, because Detroits hopes that prospect Jimmy Howard is ready for the NHL and Chris Osgood is ready to overcome last year’s regular season relapse . . . Washington and Atlanta are two teams open addition additional Russian talent, so free agent Maxim Afinogenov could interest either of those teams. Also, Nikolai Zherdev could come back to life playing with, say, Ilya Kovalchuk in Atlanta . . . Several teams are interested in five-time 20-goal scorer Mike Comrie, who could end up becoming a bargain pick-up in this tight free-agent marketplace . . . Hockey Guy is surprised 14-goal scorer Marc-Andre Bergeron hasn’t found a new team. The unrestricted free agent is one of the NHL’s best pure power-play defensemen. His work in his own zone is a whole other case.