Heatley won't dictate deal: Murray

by PeterR on Jun 22, 2009 3:09 PM EDT Comment 10 comments

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Karri Ramo (31), of Finland, stops a shot from Ottawa Senators' Dany Heatley (15) as Tampa Bay defenseman Noah Welch (7) blocks Heatley in front of the crease during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 29, 2009 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

10 months ago: Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Karri Ramo (31), of Finland, stops a shot from Ottawa Senators' Dany Heatley (15) as Tampa Bay defenseman Noah Welch (7) blocks Heatley in front of the crease during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 29, 2009 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

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Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray was on NHL Live today, discussing a number of things the Ottawa Senators have been dealing with this off-season. First, and most obvious, is the trade request of Dany Heatley, about which Murray suggested he will not be dictating the terms; any deal done will have to be in Ottawa's best interests.

Although Murray spent most of the time discussing Heatley, he also touched on the Senators' need for offensive depth as well as his expectations for the upcoming draft, and whoever the Senators end up selecting with the ninth overall draft choice.

Murray had a number of interesting comments regarding Heatley, in fact. He stated his contention that the Senators organization prides itself on treating their players very well, and that Heatley is no exception--Murray said that Heatley was especially well-treated financially by the team. Most interestingly, though, was that fact that Murray said he wasn't just willing to enter training camp with Heatley on the Sens roster, but that he would in fact prefer it if the two-time 50-goal-scoring winger stayed with the Sens.

Was this all posturing to get himself in a better bargaining position when dealing with other teams? It's entirely possible. But Murray is a gutsy GM, and as horrifying as it would be to enter into a third season with a huge distraction right from the outset for fans and players alike, Murray doesn't seem keen to trade a star player without getting fair value in return.

Murray also spoke about the Senators' need for offensive depth. He said before Heatley's trade request that he felt the team needed one top-six forward, and in response to a question suggested that he would like a second-line centre. This suggests that, although Murray expects 20-25 goals out of Mike Fisher, he may see him as more of a third-line centreman than a second-liner.

Finally, with the ninth overall pick in this year's entry draft, Murray said he has high expectations for whoever the team decides to draft. Although he acknowledged that it's unlikely the player will join the NHL right away, Murray expects it's a distinct possibility the player might play in the NHL as soon as next season. Should the Senators draft Nazem Kadri, as we've predicted, we might

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Please move him

I really, really hope that he was posturing in suggesting that Heatley might come back next year if the right return isn’t there. It isn’t just the awkwardness of having him back as a modern-day Yashin, it is that this is Murray’s big chance (this Friday night) to straighten out our awful salary situation. I know his hands were tied in giving extensions to the boyfriends, but this is a do-over where he can pull some money back into the middle class of the team and get two good forwards for the same price as Heatley was costing us. We had turned into the Lightning and we’ve got a chance to get out of it. Please trade him.

by duffyforever on Jun 22, 2009 3:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The trouble is that $4M bonus. A team will really have to want him and possibly dilute their offer in order to take him on.

We had turned into the Lightning and we’ve got a chance to get out of it.

Surprising to see a sens fan say that.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Jun 23, 2009 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ditto.

As a Sens fan, I don’t want this hanging over an entire season. It makes for great blog hits, but it’s so frustrating to watch. We had to see the Gerber/Emery fiasco, and then the shit-show that was last year. I thought things might turn around, but you can’t enter the season with such a huge distraction. I think it was mostly posturing on the part of Murray, and hopefully it will work and we’ll get a better deal for it.

The opportunity to address the salary structure, which would only have become more of a problem as the salary cap falls, makes the deal a lot easier for most people to swallow.

www.silversevensens.com

by PeterR on Jun 23, 2009 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Keep him, unless you get a better offer

Heatley is one of the league’s best players so the Sens should not get rid of him unless they can get a great deal. For example, if the Rangers were willing to give Gomez, Drury and a sweet draft spot, it might be an ok deal. Otherwise, the Sens should not trade Heatley.

Now Heatley has a bit of a fundamental lack of understanding of the hierarchy of hockey and the rule of athority. This was made evident earlier this season when he commented in an interview how if things with the team do not go well, you just get another coach. Umm, no buddy, that is not how it works. Coach is part of the problem but players are an even bigger part. He needs to learn that any solution to winning a cup will rest very heavily on his shoulders and not just on swapping out coaches every time the team hits a rough patch. Similarly, Heatley’s auto incident that led to his departure from the Thrashers is also indicative of Heatley’s lack of respect for authority.

Now, Heatley is demonstrating a recurring pattern of running away every time he faces a challenge. Car accident contoversy? No problem, split town. Don’t like my coach? No problem, split town.

Bottom line, Heatley signed a deal with the Sens to provide hockey services to the best of his ability over an agreed period of time at an agreed rate of compensation. This is the primary objective of the agreement, Heatley’s “contentment” ranks a distant priority for the stakeholders of this agreement, including the fans. Heatley needs to honour that commitment.

So unless the Sens can get a good deal for Heatley, and in this economic environment this is highly unlikely, the Sens should not trade him. As such, chances are most likely (IMHO) that Heatley will be a Sen next year. If so, Heatley needs to suck it up and fulfill his contractual obligation.

by aagoodfella on Jun 22, 2009 6:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

For example, if the Rangers were willing to give Gomez, Drury and a sweet draft spot, it might be an ok deal.

Uhh….

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Jun 23, 2009 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I'm not interested in that deal.

And they have a combined cap hit of almost $14.5M for this season and more. So it’s not just undesirable, it’s also just about financially impossible.

www.silversevensens.com

by PeterR on Jun 23, 2009 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dany is 28, Drury is 33 and Gomez is 30 – Heatley is younger

combined (Drury + Gomez) produce .51 goals per game over their careers versus .51 for Heatley, about the same

combined (Drury + Gomez) produce 1.04 assists per game over their careers versus .56 for Heatley, better than Heatley

cume +/- for Drury and Gomez is +62 versus +47 for Heatley … but Heatley has ony 7 years versus 9.5 avg for Drury and Gomez … if you normalize Heatley +/- for 9.5 seasons (based on career avg) he is +64 — about the same

combined (Drury + Gomez) incur 1.19 PIM per game versus 0.90 for Heatley

so, basically if this trade was consummated, from a Sens perspective, it is roughly equal goal and +/- production, for more PIM, age (both negative tradeoffs) with more assists (an offset). IMHO, the deal is not that appealing unless there is a sweet draft choice that would get the Sens a great prospect.

Like I said, better to keep Heatley. He has more upside.

by aagoodfella on Jun 23, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs