Heatley's Return 'Doable', says Melnyk

Jordo wrote:I think it'll be very interesting to see the fans' reaction if Heatley is back. On one side of the coin, he's a 50 goal scorer who gives us 4 ELITE hockey players on our club- which is a recipe for success- and will undoubtedly take our team to a next level.

On the popular and heavier side of the coin, there's the fact that he openly stated he doesn't want to be here- which is basically a slap in the face to each and every fan, player, management, media, and citizen of Ottawa.

I wonder what happens.

I don't think that's correct. Heatley has said squat since this began. Not defending him, of course, but he still has an out -- fire the agents, say it was bad advice, play his *** off. Remember that scene from The Longest Yard (no, not the remake, the good one). Crew basically "quit" on the team (he had good reason to do so, but the team only knew that he'd done it before, and now was doing it again). He wasn't welcomed back with open arms, but had to endure a few plays where he got killed because the defensive line basically said "Uh-uh" (good thing it was not Canadian footbal with only three downs). Is a complete rehabilitation possible? Maybe. Probable? Doubt it. But I don't see a problem with him starting here until the right deal comes along. The only thing is we have to make sure he's *not* the go-to guy, so he'd have to play on the second line. That part should be very easy to explain to him.

I think the Senators are handling the Heatley problem correctly.

Try and trade Heatley but at the same time leave the door open for the very real possibility he may have to return here.

If he does come back I think he'll give it all he has (esp. if he wants to make the Olympic team), and I think the team and coach will be able to bury the hatchet.

Trading him is best for everyone involved but it's not looking good right now.

Hoags wrote:I think the Senators are handling the Heatley problem correctly.

Try and trade Heatley but at the same time leave the door open for the very real possibility he may have to return here.

If he does come back I think he'll give it all he has (esp. if he wants to make the Olympic team), and I think the team and coach will be able to bury the hatchet.

Trading him is best for everyone involved but it's not looking good right now.

Welcome Hoags, and good post-

As someone mentioned earlier- all of this Melnyk talk is just a political safety move in the event that Murray cannot trade him, and he ends up back at Scotiabank Place come fall.

I really think that as this thing starts to wear off, GMs will start to excuse all the Dung that has gone on, or at least forget about it- and pull the trigger on a deal.

I still think that something will go on between San Jose or Colorado in the coming days. It would be great to get Marleau in here. Ideally bring in Marleau + Cheechoo+ future considerations/picks for Heatley + Smith. it's a bit of a cap dump for both sides, but I BELIEVE will keep both under the cap- and everyone happy.

Jordo wrote:

Hoags wrote:I think the Senators are handling the Heatley problem correctly.

Try and trade Heatley but at the same time leave the door open for the very real possibility he may have to return here.

If he does come back I think he'll give it all he has (esp. if he wants to make the Olympic team), and I think the team and coach will be able to bury the hatchet.

Trading him is best for everyone involved but it's not looking good right now.

Welcome Hoags, and good post-

As someone mentioned earlier- all of this Melnyk talk is just a political safety move in the event that Murray cannot trade him, and he ends up back at Scotiabank Place come fall.

I really think that as this thing starts to wear off, GMs will start to excuse all the Dung that has gone on, or at least forget about it- and pull the trigger on a deal.

I still think that something will go on between San Jose or Colorado in the coming days. It would be great to get Marleau in here. Ideally bring in Marleau + Cheechoo+ future considerations/picks for Heatley + Smith. it's a bit of a cap dump for both sides, but I BELIEVE will keep both under the cap- and everyone happy.

your proposed deal does alright for the Sens in term of cap room, (even then, I still think we would have to shed some salary in terms of cushion)

ROSTER SIZE	21
SALARY CAP	$56,800,000
PAYROLL	$55,778,333
BONUSES	$65,000
CAP ROOM	$1,086,667

but not so much for the Sharks, as per trade machine on capgeek.com.

ROSTER SIZE	17
SALARY CAP	$56,800,000
PAYROLL	$57,372,497
BONUSES	$740,000
CAP ROOM	$167,503

I don't follow the Sharks much but Marleau would be a nice return on Heatley. To my understanding he has a NMC. It'd be funny if Heater waived his clause to go to SJ only to have Marleau refuse to come to Ottawa.

Cheechoo seems like a good acquisition as well (he scored 50+ goals one season I think). However his production has gone downhill since, although to my understanding he's been playing on a checking line.

With the Sharks cap problems, I'm not sure how they can pull the trigger on a deal, it may have to be 3-way. Doug Wilson promised to clean house after their first round playoff exit but so far he hasn't done much.

Hoags wrote:I don't follow the Sharks much but Marleau would be a nice return on Heatley. To my understanding he has a NMC. It'd be funny if Heater waived his clause to go to SJ only to have Marleau refuse to come to Ottawa.

Cheechoo seems like a good acquisition as well (he scored 50+ goals one season I think). However his production has gone downhill since, although to my understanding he's been playing on a checking line.

With the Sharks cap problems, I'm not sure how they can pull the trigger on a deal, it may have to be 3-way. Doug Wilson promised to clean house after their first round playoff exit but so far he hasn't done much.

Yeah Hoags, I'm surprised we haven't seen the Sharks do anything yet. Very puzzling. Perhaps DW is waiting until mid July to try to orchestrate deals after other GMs have made their summer moves? Or maybe he simply can't find a taker for Cheechoo etc (try Montreal or the Rangers DW!).

Welcome aboard, good to have you here. :n:

Having read a couple articles, one from Columbus Dispatch, it seems as though the GM of SJ highly over values his players and is viewed as the worst GM in that regard. I suspect either the team SJ deals with gets fleeced or it takes all off season before SJ clears cap space.

Jordo wrote:

Hoags wrote:I think the Senators are handling the Heatley problem correctly.

Try and trade Heatley but at the same time leave the door open for the very real possibility he may have to return here.

If he does come back I think he'll give it all he has (esp. if he wants to make the Olympic team), and I think the team and coach will be able to bury the hatchet.

Trading him is best for everyone involved but it's not looking good right now.

Welcome Hoags, and good post-

As someone mentioned earlier- all of this Melnyk talk is just a political safety move in the event that Murray cannot trade him, and he ends up back at Scotiabank Place come fall.

I really think that as this thing starts to wear off, GMs will start to excuse all the Dung that has gone on, or at least forget about it- and pull the trigger on a deal.

I still think that something will go on between San Jose or Colorado in the coming days. It would be great to get Marleau in here. Ideally bring in Marleau + Cheechoo+ future considerations/picks for Heatley + Smith. it's a bit of a cap dump for both sides, but I BELIEVE will keep both under the cap- and everyone happy.

The more of this kindu thing the better...not sure gms are buying it but the more we make it look like we're expecting Heatley to come back to play with Ottawa, the better.  I think teams are approaching this like at some point before the season, we'll have no choice but to accept the best offer to a place Heatley wants to go.  If Melnyk doing interviews like this can change that, great.  Of course, we're all dying to get rid of him for a good return but the best is for management, the team, and the fans to play it up like we prefer him to stay.

I think it's better for Ottawa not to appear desperate to move Heatley, it strengthens our position.

When the trade request was made public, every team (especially those on Heater's list) probably tried to get him for a song. Bryan Murray probably spent more time laughing over the phone than negotiating serious offers.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Exactly SF71. If Heatley wants to sulk then
Clouston has the ability to sharply diminish Heatley's roll on the team
and shift most of those prime minutes to AK27.

That's true as well, although Heater has nothing to gain by re-joining the team and being a bad apple. He has to rejoin the team, and buy into the coach and team concept and earn his ice time like everyone else. He shouldn't get any special treatment but I think he should be given every opportunity to contribute.

Hoags wrote:I think it's better for Ottawa not to appear desperate to move Heatley, it strengthens our position.

When the trade request was made public, every team (especially those on Heater's list) probably tried to get him for a song. Bryan Murray probably spent more time laughing over the phone than negotiating serious offers.

With Kovalev here, I don't think we appear as a motivated seller anymore, Murray can hold onto Heatley, suspend him, let him play 2nd line minutes, AK27 will play with Spezza until Heatley decides if he wants to be part of this team or until he is traded, either one.

Exactly SF71. If Heatley wants to sulk then Clouston has the ability to sharply diminish Heatley's roll on the team and shift most of those prime minutes to AK27.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Exactly SF71. If Heatley wants to sulk then Clouston has the ability to sharply diminish Heatley's roll on the team and shift most of those prime minutes to AK27.

I highly doubt that the Sens take the "if you don't want to play for us then we'll embarrass you on the fourth line" route. If he plays here, Melnyk will insist on getting his money's worth. If Heatley doesn't play well, then of course he'll get demoted, but they'll play him on the line that they think will get the best results. If that's the first line, then that just means that that's the role where they expect the best return. Business will be first, not revenge.

Of course it's doable. Melnyk cannot come out and say Diddle you Diddle-ball! to Heatley. It's a very real possibility that Heatley starts the season in Ottawa. He's got to assume that Heatley is coming back and needs to appear to be trying to mend fences with the Heatley camp, or his value will never get as high as it could otherwise.

Melnyk should just stay behind the scenes and let Murray do the talking about Heatley if there needs to be any.

spader wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Exactly SF71. If Heatley wants to sulk then Clouston has the ability to sharply diminish Heatley's roll on the team and shift most of those prime minutes to AK27.

I highly doubt that the Sens take the "if you don't want to play for us then we'll embarrass you on the fourth line" route. If he plays here, Melnyk will insist on getting his money's worth. If Heatley doesn't play well, then of course he'll get demoted, but they'll play him on the line that they think will get the best results. If that's the first line, then that just means that that's the role where they expect the best return. Business will be first, not revenge.

Wow, Korea? How'd you end up as a Sens fan? Or in Korea for that matter? :^^^^:

Also, your post = +1

spader wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Exactly SF71. If Heatley wants to sulk then Clouston has the ability to sharply diminish Heatley's roll on the team and shift most of those prime minutes to AK27.

I highly doubt that the Sens take the "if you don't want to play for us then we'll embarrass you on the fourth line" route. If he plays here, Melnyk will insist on getting his money's worth. If Heatley doesn't play well, then of course he'll get demoted, but they'll play him on the line that they think will get the best results. If that's the first line, then that just means that that's the role where they expect the best return. Business will be first, not revenge.

I absolutely agree. All I'm saying is, like last season, when Heatley's minutes were reduced and he was shifted to the second PP unit, having Kovy allows these moves to have a minimal impact because Kovy can comfortably munch up those minutes. In other words if Heatley continues not to buy into the system then he can be demoted and the team doesn't suffer as much as if Kovy wasn't here.

Vandelay wrote:

Jordo wrote:

Hoags wrote:I think the Senators are handling the Heatley problem correctly.

Try and trade Heatley but at the same time leave the door open for the very real possibility he may have to return here.

If he does come back I think he'll give it all he has (esp. if he wants to make the Olympic team), and I think the team and coach will be able to bury the hatchet.

Trading him is best for everyone involved but it's not looking good right now.

Welcome Hoags, and good post-

As someone mentioned earlier- all of this Melnyk talk is just a political safety move in the event that Murray cannot trade him, and he ends up back at Scotiabank Place come fall.

I really think that as this thing starts to wear off, GMs will start to excuse all the Dung that has gone on, or at least forget about it- and pull the trigger on a deal.

I still think that something will go on between San Jose or Colorado in the coming days. It would be great to get Marleau in here. Ideally bring in Marleau + Cheechoo+ future considerations/picks for Heatley + Smith. it's a bit of a cap dump for both sides, but I BELIEVE will keep both under the cap- and everyone happy.

The more of this kindu thing the better...not sure gms are buying it but the more we make it look like we're expecting Heatley to come back to play with Ottawa, the better. I think teams are approaching this like at some point before the season, we'll have no choice but to accept the best offer to a place Heatley wants to go. If Melnyk doing interviews like this can change that, great. Of course, we're all dying to get rid of him for a good return but the best is for management, the team, and the fans to play it up like we prefer him to stay.

Vandelay, could you post more please? I can never get enough Costanza in my life.

Zoolander wrote:

Vandelay wrote:

Jordo wrote:

Hoags wrote:I think the Senators are handling the Heatley problem correctly.

Try and trade Heatley but at the same time leave the door open for the very real possibility he may have to return here.

If he does come back I think he'll give it all he has (esp. if he wants to make the Olympic team), and I think the team and coach will be able to bury the hatchet.

Trading him is best for everyone involved but it's not looking good right now.

Welcome Hoags, and good post-

As someone mentioned earlier- all of this Melnyk talk is just a political safety move in the event that Murray cannot trade him, and he ends up back at Scotiabank Place come fall.

I really think that as this thing starts to wear off, GMs will start to excuse all the Dung that has gone on, or at least forget about it- and pull the trigger on a deal.

I still think that something will go on between San Jose or Colorado in the coming days. It would be great to get Marleau in here. Ideally bring in Marleau + Cheechoo+ future considerations/picks for Heatley + Smith. it's a bit of a cap dump for both sides, but I BELIEVE will keep both under the cap- and everyone happy.

The more of this kindu thing the better...not sure gms are buying it but the more we make it look like we're expecting Heatley to come back to play with Ottawa, the better. I think teams are approaching this like at some point before the season, we'll have no choice but to accept the best offer to a place Heatley wants to go. If Melnyk doing interviews like this can change that, great. Of course, we're all dying to get rid of him for a good return but the best is for management, the team, and the fans to play it up like we prefer him to stay.

Vandelay, could you post more please? I can never get enough Costanza in my life.

Sorry man...too busy importing potato chips and exporting diapers...

Vandelay wrote:

Zoolander wrote:

Vandelay wrote:

Jordo wrote:

Hoags wrote:I think the Senators are handling the Heatley problem correctly.

Try and trade Heatley but at the same time leave the door open for the very real possibility he may have to return here.

If he does come back I think he'll give it all he has (esp. if he wants to make the Olympic team), and I think the team and coach will be able to bury the hatchet.

Trading him is best for everyone involved but it's not looking good right now.

Welcome Hoags, and good post-

As someone mentioned earlier- all of this Melnyk talk is just a political safety move in the event that Murray cannot trade him, and he ends up back at Scotiabank Place come fall.

I really think that as this thing starts to wear off, GMs will start to excuse all the Dung that has gone on, or at least forget about it- and pull the trigger on a deal.

I still think that something will go on between San Jose or Colorado in the coming days. It would be great to get Marleau in here. Ideally bring in Marleau + Cheechoo+ future considerations/picks for Heatley + Smith. it's a bit of a cap dump for both sides, but I BELIEVE will keep both under the cap- and everyone happy.

The more of this kindu thing the better...not sure gms are buying it but the more we make it look like we're expecting Heatley to come back to play with Ottawa, the better. I think teams are approaching this like at some point before the season, we'll have no choice but to accept the best offer to a place Heatley wants to go. If Melnyk doing interviews like this can change that, great. Of course, we're all dying to get rid of him for a good return but the best is for management, the team, and the fans to play it up like we prefer him to stay.

Vandelay, could you post more please? I can never get enough Costanza in my life.

Sorry man...too busy importing potato chips and exporting diapers...

Didn't he decide to focus on importing?
Or was it exporting?