Is Heatley still elite? (now with poll)

I love him, always will, but is he still considered elite?

He's been nothing but average this year for a player of his stature. Not to mention his tremendous slumps towards the end of last year as well.

Can he still fight through NHL checkers and D-men? The Worlds were fun, but they were by no mean the same caliber as he'll be facing day in and day out in the NHL. Especially with the number of up and coming D-men to the league in the next few seasons.

So...is he still an elite goal-scorer, or are we unfortunately seeing him start to decline?

504Heater wrote:I love him, always will, but is he still considered elite?

He's been nothing but average this year for a player of his stature. Not to mention his tremendous slumps towards the end of last year as well.

Can he still fight through NHL checkers and D-men? The Worlds were fun, but they were by no mean the same caliber as he'll be facing day in and day out in the NHL. Especially with the number of up and coming D-men to the league in the next few seasons.

So...is he still an elite goal-scorer, or are we unfortunately seeing him start to decline?

I don't think anyone knows what the problem is with Heatley, but I think he'll be fine. There isn't a player on the Sens that is playing well on a regular basis, Heatley included. I have a feeling that when Danny figures things out, the rest of the team will follow.

I'd say he's still an elite scorer but is in a horrendous slump. He's hitting goalposts, missing one-timers, or passing instead of shooting. He's still getting into open spaces and getting his chances, just not finishing like he had in the past.

I agree with you guys, but still, curious to see how this poll ends up.

504Heater wrote:I agree with you guys, but still, curious to see how this poll ends up.

I can't see anyone saying that he isn't an elite goal scorer - elite overall player? that might be another story.

B B B Bird is the Word wrote:
I can't see anyone saying that he isn't an elite goal scorer - elite overall player? that might be another story.

Elite is elite. Is he upper-echelon?

504Heater wrote:

B B B Bird is the Word wrote:
I can't see anyone saying that he isn't an elite goal scorer - elite overall player? that might be another story.

Elite is elite. Is he upper-echelon?

There are a few things that can knock a player from elite status like age or injuries - and neither of these are factors for Heatley - now that I think about it, didn't he hurt his shoulder last year? how have his stats been since the injury? maybe that injury could have knocked him out of elite status.

Eeesh. That's a tough one I must say. Good Poll Heater!!! I almost voted "Of Course he is" but something held me back. You have a point in saying that an elite player finds ways to score no matter what...it's very true. So, I can't vot on this right now...I'm torn. Of course we all know that he's super awesome, but at the same time, if he's that awesome wouldn't he be doing more in our horrendous slump we're having? I just don't know what to say here except that he better get his head out of his Donkey and start producing.

B B B Bird is the Word wrote:
There are a few things that can knock a player from elite status like age or injuries - and neither of these are factors for Heatley - now that I think about it, didn't he hurt his shoulder last year? how have his stats been since the injury? maybe that injury could have knocked him out of elite status.

Nah. He was stupendous in the Worlds, so his shoulder must be back to 99%.

SensGirl11 wrote:Eeesh. That's a tough one I must say. Good Poll Heater!!! I almost voted "Of Course he is" but something held me back. You have a point in saying that an elite player finds ways to score no matter what...it's very true. So, I can't vot on this right now...I'm torn. Of course we all know that he's super awesome, but at the same time, if he's that awesome wouldn't he be doing more in our horrendous slump we're having? I just don't know what to say here except that he better get his head out of his Donkey and start producing.

He might have to go against Hartsburg's system and start opening up the offensive zone for himself using his brute strength and fancy moves. Same with Spezza. Start going against what Hartsburg is saying in the offensive zone.

I'll take the Diddle turnovers, we need to get creative. The rest of the team, adhere to his system or you're out. You two (and Alfie), go for the goal every time.

504Heater wrote:

B B B Bird is the Word wrote:
There are a few things that can knock a player from elite status like age or injuries - and neither of these are factors for Heatley - now that I think about it, didn't he hurt his shoulder last year? how have his stats been since the injury? maybe that injury could have knocked him out of elite status.

Nah. He was stupendous in the Worlds, so his shoulder must be back to 99%.

right, forgot about that. So, assuming he was elite, and nothing has happened to change that, he remains elite in my books, just not playing well right now. but like SensGirl says, he's got to get his head out of his Donkey and start producing.

504Heater wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:Eeesh. That's a tough one I must say. Good Poll Heater!!! I almost voted "Of Course he is" but something held me back. You have a point in saying that an elite player finds ways to score no matter what...it's very true. So, I can't vot on this right now...I'm torn. Of course we all know that he's super awesome, but at the same time, if he's that awesome wouldn't he be doing more in our horrendous slump we're having? I just don't know what to say here except that he better get his head out of his Donkey and start producing.

He might have to go against Hartsburg's system and start opening up the offensive zone for himself using his brute strength and fancy moves. Same with Spezza. Start going against what Hartsburg is saying in the offensive zone.

I'll take the Diddle turnovers, we need to get creative. The rest of the team, adhere to his system or you're out. You two (and Alfie), go for the goal every time.

You're absolutely right. We need to just start opening these games up completely. We have absolutely nothing to lose at this point, except for a top 5 pick. Lets just open it up and be completely offensive. We're bound to get more wins than we have now.

Dude 'isn't having fun' playing hockey. I love the guy too, but I am falling out of love.

I find myself yelling at the TV a lot... MOVE YOUR FEET YOU STUPID Diddle BASTARD.

Yup. The struggles are a reflection of a lack of rest in the off-season, a lack of puck-movement, a tonne of negativity and no secondary scoring behind him.

As soon as he got out of the Ottawa environment, he shone.

asq2 wrote:Yup. The struggles are a reflection of a lack of rest in the off-season, a lack of puck-movement, a tonne of negativity and no secondary scoring behind him.

As soon as he got out of the Ottawa environment, he shone.

We need to fix this ASAP.