Fisher "surprised" and "upset" by Heatley's trade demand

Ottawa Sun columnist interviewed Senators' centreman Mike Fisher about his now former-teammate Dany Heatley's trade demand for the tabloid today, and offered some of Fisher's thoughts scattered within his unabashed slander of Heatley. Fisher said that his whole team was in shock over the announcement, and suggested he had no idea Heatley's disagreement with rookie coach Cory Clouston was so pronounced. I'll do you a favour and filter out Brennan's awfully transparent personal attack and present you Fisher's quotes on their own, and then (if you'd like) take the jump to laugh with me at how cheated Brennan apparently feels about this thing.

"I still can't believe it," Fisher, one of the Senators' true leaders, said from his Peterborough-area cottage. "It kind of came out of the blue. It shocked everyone. All the players.

"I'm disappointed and surprised and a little upset, for sure."

[...]

"I don't know anything other than what I hear from (other Senators)," said Fisher. "I think everyone on the team knows that it went down, but I don't know any more. I'm hoping there will be something more ... it doesn't seem like Heater to do anything like this."

[...]"I didn't know it would come to this point," he said. "Everyone knew his ice time was down and he was discouraged. But players have disagreements with coaches all the time ... I never thought it would come to this."

[...]

"When everyone signed (the multi-year deals) it was because they wanted to play here," said Fisher. "That meant under the coach's system. It has to be the No. 1 priority. That's how you be a team. That's what Cory demands. It's what we all have to do to have a better year."

[...]

"Heater has done so much good here," said Fisher. "He's a good guy ... he was a great teammate. This is just so surprising."

[...]

"I don't know everything that's out there," said Fisher, referring to available players and soon-to-be free agents. "It's too hard to say what we can get.

"It's put Bryan in a difficult situation. (No matter who he gets) I think for sure, we'll be missing a guy like that, but somebody's going to be getting those passes from Spetz.

"Obviously, it's going to be hard to replace Heater. But we'll find a way."
Now, onto Brennan's smear. I will agree with anyone who says Heatley's actions have been untoward, and he's completely turning his back on an agreement he made with a franchise that a lot of us, mainstream media members included, have invested much time, money, and emotion into. And I think fans have every right to boo Heatley when he comes to town, an expression of their frustration at another star player who's crapped on our hearts. But really, this is a little much--especially from someone who's supposed to be reporting the news:

Like a child, Heatley seemingly doesn't understand the word commitment.

Are you kidding me, Brennan? This kind of journalism isn't even worth the 25-cent cover price of the Sun, these days.

Let's get real: Most beat writers are fans of their teams. As much as they might try to stay impartial, it's difficult. But it doesn't even seem like Brennan is trying to be at all reasonable in this column. It's ridiculous, and it actually kind of offends me as a Senators fan. It's as if he believes I can't draw my own conclusions on this matter, and so he's going to shove them down my throat. And I doubt players appreciate the unfair treatment which they receive from Brennan and Bruce 'Malkin to the Kings' Garrioch dish out in the papers. When it's not slander, it's 'rumours' and 'speculation'.

Brennan, you can do better. You come off sounding like an upset fanboy who didn't get seconds of desert after dinner. Is this writing actually a serious attempt at journalism?

Meanwhile, the sound you do not hear is the barking. Dany the Dog has decided to keep his muzzle on for now.