Bryan Murray Vs Dany Heatley: Who Blinks First?

Sometimes I wonder if the athletes know how we THE FANS feel.

Yes we don't know the players personally nor do we know what goes on in the locker room. With the internet it's real easy to write stuff you'd never say to someone's face sadly.

But it's extremely frustrating how this whole trade request has panned out so far. It makes Dany look really really selfish.

For any fan who admired Dany as an athlete it's real shock to the system to learn he no longer wants to play to here, nor does he want to explain his reasons to anyone esp. his (former) captain and coach.

While the fans are reminded that Dany is a human being, and perhaps doesn't deserve some of the hatred out there I wonder if he knows how we all feel, esp. those of us with #15 jerseys.

Those of us who got a glimmer of hope when Clouston became a coach and were excited with the upcoming season, to have one of your favorite (star) players throw the new coach under the bus is just sickening.

notch4077 wrote:He reads quite a bit.

He is great friends with Heatley's younger brother Mark as they played together in Wisconsin for 2 years and still talk almost everyday.

He takes everything with a grain of salt, but he could do without some of the Heatley comments he sees.

Sort of like Zoolanders picture in his signature, which I have mentioned before as well.

That is really quite fascinating. I hope that our posters take it to heart and start treating our players with less passion and, I dare say, more respect.

There's no reason we can't write honestly about a player while still being respectful. The comments I read on here about guys like Spezza, Lee, Kelly, Picard, and of course Heatley are often over the top. You can vocalize your dislike about what a player brings to the ice or the locker room without calling him a useless Dung-bag, spoiled brat, or drug addict.

Stuff like this ought to be a serious wake-up call for a more professional tone to our posting. Do we have sooth the guys and tell them they're great when they're not? Hell no. But we don't need to demonize them when they're not doing what we want them to do.

notch4077 wrote:Like I said at the start of my little confession, Elliott is happy with what he reads about himself on here.

He stays away from anything that he thinks might have Heatley in it, but it's tough when some posters have things in their signature.

He definitely got a kick out of the posting on Friday saying that he was getting a contract on the weekend (which has come and gone BTW)

Straight up; are you Elliott?

Well said, RP. I believe I was a little over-the-top in calling Kelly "Stone Hands" in another thread. It may be true, but he is still a valuable player in a particular role. However it is still debatable whether that role needs to be filled on this club this year or, as I have been trying to say for a while, if we really need our 3rd line to be the "testing ground" for up-and-coming offensive stars.

In any case, back on the topic of Dany Heatley. This guy has, unfortunately, shown more of his selfish side than anything else, especially lately. Toward the end of the season we all noticed how he just coasted into the offensive zone with his stick high up in the air. Not so much as an inkling of a forecheck; barely ever in a back-checking role. Yet his shifts were often much longer than his team mates'. Writing that book -- Dominant Dany Heatley -- what exactly was that for? And now he has asked for a ticket out of town, after signing a 6 year deal, and the only reason we have heard is that he didn't like the way the coach treated him.

Funny thing is, last time we all checked this was a team sport, and winning is what counted. And under Clouston the team played sufficently better, and won more games. Something obviously was working. Low-contract guys were given a chance *not* because they were the coach's favorites but strictly based on their previous effort. Hihg contract players were given reduced ice time if they were seen to not put out as much effort as they could.

There was no magic in that, you did not require to be a master at divination in order to figure it out. Play hard and you will be rewarded with ice time. You can only play with 5 skaters, max, so if someone's oce time is going up, someone else's is going down.

Against the backdrop of all of this, Heatley has not come out to present his side of the story. We've heard from his agents, we've heard from his parents' neighbor. We've heard from his soon-to-be-former team mates. We've heard from the NHLPA executive. We have not heard anything remotely plausible to explain his reasons *unless* those reasons were based in a very childish reaction to a coach's right to run the team as he sees fit. A way, it's worth repeating, that was working.

wprager wrote:Well said, RP. I believe I was a little over-the-top in calling Kelly "Stone Hands" in another thread. It may be true, but he is still a valuable player in a particular role. However it is still debatable whether that role needs to be filled on this club this year or, as I have been trying to say for a while, if we really need our 3rd line to be the "testing ground" for up-and-coming offensive stars.

In any case, back on the topic of Dany Heatley. This guy has, unfortunately, shown more of his selfish side than anything else, especially lately. Toward the end of the season we all noticed how he just coasted into the offensive zone with his stick high up in the air. Not so much as an inkling of a forecheck; barely ever in a back-checking role. Yet his shifts were often much longer than his team mates'. Writing that book -- Dominant Dany Heatley -- what exactly was that for? And now he has asked for a ticket out of town, after signing a 6 year deal, and the only reason we have heard is that he didn't like the way the coach treated him.

Funny thing is, last time we all checked this was a team sport, and winning is what counted. And under Clouston the team played sufficently better, and won more games. Something obviously was working. Low-contract guys were given a chance *not* because they were the coach's favorites but strictly based on their previous effort. Hihg contract players were given reduced ice time if they were seen to not put out as much effort as they could.

There was no magic in that, you did not require to be a master at divination in order to figure it out. Play hard and you will be rewarded with ice time. You can only play with 5 skaters, max, so if someone's oce time is going up, someone else's is going down.

Against the backdrop of all of this, Heatley has not come out to present his side of the story. We've heard from his agents, we've heard from his parents' neighbor. We've heard from his soon-to-be-former team mates. We've heard from the NHLPA executive. We have not heard anything remotely plausible to explain his reasons *unless* those reasons were based in a very childish reaction to a coach's right to run the team as he sees fit. A way, it's worth repeating, that was working.

I really don't see how Heatley can say Dung now until this deal is done.

I mean, think about it.

If he addresses the media, he has to say something about the Ottawa Senators. Now, either he has to say he is unhappy with the direction of the team and how they're using him (translation: this is a loser franchise) OR he has to say that things have been blown out of proportion, he doesn't want to leave the team, and he's happy.

He's not going to say the latter. Sorry, that ship has sailed. He's clearly unhappy, with all kinds of things -- what precisely, who knows. To have him detail those things in public, however, would be positively disastrous for the team's image. It would only further confirm that he can't return to our locker room and that BM has to move him before October.

Hurt fans want an explanation, but what happens if and when everything he says makes our organization look even worse? Or makes him look even worse, and so even more untradeable?

That is, anything he says now, other than "forgive me and take me back," is going to hurt this team, now and going forward. Especially if it's the truth. It's going to smear the name of the Senators in the press, and/or further weaken BM's bargaining position in any attempts to deal him.

In short, I totally get why Heatley hasn't said anything, and won't say anything until he's either in our lineup or traded by October. He can't. And by not doing so, he's actually working in the best interests of the team.

I'm not saying that Heatley isn't selfish and childish in asking for this trade in the first place. I'm not saying he hasn't seriously mismanaged it from the get-go. But I am saying that he's not necessarily the big bad demon we want him to be just because he hasn't explained everything to us, the hurt fans. If you stop and think about it, it looks to me like he's taking one on the chin in the press in order to NOT through the Sens under the bus or making moving him anymore difficult that it already is.

There's nothing Heatley can say other than "forgive me and take me back" that won't hurt the team. Since he's not going to say that (unless EDM is the only option and he just won't do it), it's better FOR THE SENS that he say nothing at all.

rooneypoo wrote:

notch4077 wrote:He reads quite a bit.

He is great friends with Heatley's younger brother Mark as they played together in Wisconsin for 2 years and still talk almost everyday.

He takes everything with a grain of salt, but he could do without some of the Heatley comments he sees.

Sort of like Zoolanders picture in his signature, which I have mentioned before as well.

That is really quite fascinating. I hope that our posters take it to heart and start treating our players with less passion and, I dare say, more respect.

There's no reason we can't write honestly about a player while still being respectful. The comments I read on here about guys like Spezza, Lee, Kelly, Picard, and of course Heatley are often over the top. You can vocalize your dislike about what a player brings to the ice or the locker room without calling him a useless Dung-bag, spoiled brat, or drug addict.

Stuff like this ought to be a serious wake-up call for a more professional tone to our posting. Do we have sooth the guys and tell them they're great when they're not? Hell no. But we don't need to demonize them when they're not doing what we want them to do.

Hopefully this means way more to the members here coming from you than it did from me.

I obviously never put it as eloquently as you did, but I tried to get the same point across.

ElliottRules wrote:From what I have read, he is good friends with Heatley's brother. I am sure he can see this from both angles but it would be interesting to hear what some of the younger guys have to say about this. I can only imagine if you asked them off the record what they thought they would say that he should be thankful for playing on a team that takes such good care of their players. With the list of players trying to get full-time employment in the the NHL, they must just shake their heads at his selfish actions. Let's just hope that our younger players see how acting like a prima donna can completely damage your professional career and in turn don't look to him as a leader but more of an example of what not to do.

He was Mark's (Dany's younger brother) roommate for 2 years at Wisconsin.

Like I said before, he does see it from both sides, but would prefer not to have to see some of the things he sees on this site. He would have never found this site if it wasn't for me asking him to check it out. He loves some things on this site and hates others. If he could filter some things he would.

I don't get into the hockey side too much with him and especially not the Heatley situation as he takes that very personal.

TheAvatar wrote:

notch4077 wrote:Like I said at the start of my little confession, Elliott is happy with what he reads about himself on here.

He stays away from anything that he thinks might have Heatley in it, but it's tough when some posters have things in their signature.

He definitely got a kick out of the posting on Friday saying that he was getting a contract on the weekend (which has come and gone BTW)

Straight up; are you Elliott?

LOL...nope.

wprager wrote:Well said, RP. I believe I was a little over-the-top in calling Kelly "Stone Hands" in another thread. It may be true, but he is still a valuable player in a particular role. However it is still debatable whether that role needs to be filled on this club this year or, as I have been trying to say for a while, if we really need our 3rd line to be the "testing ground" for up-and-coming offensive stars.

In any case, back on the topic of Dany Heatley. This guy has, unfortunately, shown more of his selfish side than anything else, especially lately. Toward the end of the season we all noticed how he just coasted into the offensive zone with his stick high up in the air. Not so much as an inkling of a forecheck; barely ever in a back-checking role. Yet his shifts were often much longer than his team mates'. Writing that book -- Dominant Dany Heatley -- what exactly was that for? And now he has asked for a ticket out of town, after signing a 6 year deal, and the only reason we have heard is that he didn't like the way the coach treated him.

Funny thing is, last time we all checked this was a team sport, and winning is what counted. And under Clouston the team played sufficently better, and won more games. Something obviously was working. Low-contract guys were given a chance *not* because they were the coach's favorites but strictly based on their previous effort. Hihg contract players were given reduced ice time if they were seen to not put out as much effort as they could.

There was no magic in that, you did not require to be a master at divination in order to figure it out. Play hard and you will be rewarded with ice time. You can only play with 5 skaters, max, so if someone's oce time is going up, someone else's is going down.

Against the backdrop of all of this, Heatley has not come out to present his side of the story. We've heard from his agents, we've heard from his parents' neighbor. We've heard from his soon-to-be-former team mates. We've heard from the NHLPA executive. We have not heard anything remotely plausible to explain his reasons *unless* those reasons were based in a very childish reaction to a coach's right to run the team as he sees fit. A way, it's worth repeating, that was working.

Great post...well worded.

rooneypoo wrote:

wprager wrote:Well said, RP. I believe I was a little over-the-top in calling Kelly "Stone Hands" in another thread. It may be true, but he is still a valuable player in a particular role. However it is still debatable whether that role needs to be filled on this club this year or, as I have been trying to say for a while, if we really need our 3rd line to be the "testing ground" for up-and-coming offensive stars.

In any case, back on the topic of Dany Heatley. This guy has, unfortunately, shown more of his selfish side than anything else, especially lately. Toward the end of the season we all noticed how he just coasted into the offensive zone with his stick high up in the air. Not so much as an inkling of a forecheck; barely ever in a back-checking role. Yet his shifts were often much longer than his team mates'. Writing that book -- Dominant Dany Heatley -- what exactly was that for? And now he has asked for a ticket out of town, after signing a 6 year deal, and the only reason we have heard is that he didn't like the way the coach treated him.

Funny thing is, last time we all checked this was a team sport, and winning is what counted. And under Clouston the team played sufficently better, and won more games. Something obviously was working. Low-contract guys were given a chance *not* because they were the coach's favorites but strictly based on their previous effort. Hihg contract players were given reduced ice time if they were seen to not put out as much effort as they could.

There was no magic in that, you did not require to be a master at divination in order to figure it out. Play hard and you will be rewarded with ice time. You can only play with 5 skaters, max, so if someone's oce time is going up, someone else's is going down.

Against the backdrop of all of this, Heatley has not come out to present his side of the story. We've heard from his agents, we've heard from his parents' neighbor. We've heard from his soon-to-be-former team mates. We've heard from the NHLPA executive. We have not heard anything remotely plausible to explain his reasons *unless* those reasons were based in a very childish reaction to a coach's right to run the team as he sees fit. A way, it's worth repeating, that was working.

I really don't see how Heatley can say Dung now until this deal is done.

I mean, think about it.

If he addresses the media, he has to say something about the Ottawa Senators. Now, either he has to say he is unhappy with the direction of the team and how they're using him (translation: this is a loser franchise) OR he has to say that things have been blown out of proportion, he doesn't want to leave the team, and he's happy.

He's not going to say the latter. Sorry, that ship has sailed. He's clearly unhappy, with all kinds of things -- what precisely, who knows. To have him detail those things in public, however, would be positively disastrous for the team's image. It would only further confirm that he can't return to our locker room and that BM has to move him before October.

Hurt fans want an explanation, but what happens if and when everything he says makes our organization look even worse? Or makes him look even worse, and so even more untradeable?

That is, anything he says now, other than "forgive me and take me back," is going to hurt this team, now and going forward. Especially if it's the truth. It's going to smear the name of the Senators in the press, and/or further weaken BM's bargaining position in any attempts to deal him.

In short, I totally get why Heatley hasn't said anything, and won't say anything until he's either in our lineup or traded by October. He can't. And by not doing so, he's actually working in the best interests of the team.

I'm not saying that Heatley isn't selfish and childish in asking for this trade in the first place. I'm not saying he hasn't seriously mismanaged it from the get-go. But I am saying that he's not necessarily the big bad demon we want him to be just because he hasn't explained everything to us, the hurt fans. If you stop and think about it, it looks to me like he's taking one on the chin in the press in order to NOT through the Sens under the bus or making moving him anymore difficult that it already is.

There's nothing Heatley can say other than "forgive me and take me back" that won't hurt the team. Since he's not going to say that (unless EDM is the only option and he just won't do it), it's better FOR THE SENS that he say nothing at all.

POST OF THE YEAR!!!

Let's not get too out of control in moderating our posts because some of the Sens may read this site from time to time.

With the exception of Heatley, our membership is amazingly knowledgeable and respectful towards players. Kelly's contract is slightly high, but at one point or another each of us have acknowledged his virtues. If we as fans and wanna be sports writers stop saying what we really mean, then all of a sudden this turns into a lovefest of epic proportions. Oh Elliott! You're so great, I love you, please take the contract, you fully deserve as much money as possible! No way man, take what's given to you and work your way up. We all know how talented you are, but you still have to pay your dues like all other young players not named Crosby.

The Spezza bashing on this site last year was getting horrible, but again, we as fans pay so much money and devote so much time to this sport and this team that any player reading this site would understand if we got peeved once in a while. Players can get a sense of what a fan really feels, must be interesting.

I hope people don't go out of their way to edit what they're saying, this site is solidly locked as a place to 'keep it real'. More respect amongst posters from time to time would be nice though.

10144 posts and counting! I would love to see the word count.... PostDispenser...

MurderOnIce wrote:10144 posts and counting! I would love to see the word count.... PostDispenser...

EDIT: I'm kidding there. I love to talk hockey. Dammit if it's not an obsession. There are worse though that's for sure. cool)

I think today's the day.

Not sure if these questions have been asked or answered, so would like to know the thoughts of our GM Hockey Members...

1. Could Dany Heatley retire?
   
2. If he retired, what would happen to his contract with the Senators and his rights, and what are the financial implications for the team?
   
3. Could Heatley, then, having been born in Germany, play for Germany's team in the Olympics?
   
4. If Heatley retired, could he then play in Europe or the KHL?
   
5. If Heatley retired, would/could the Sens deal his rights, in case Dany decided to come back?
   

Thanks everyone.

Dave, I dont usually responde to you're questions or comments very sarcaticly much, if ever, haha, but I have to hear.

If my aunt had balls she would be my uncle. Heatley wont be giving up over 30 million dollars to play a game, haha. Dont even really think its worth the tought.

Neely4Life wrote:Dave, I dont usually responde to you're questions or comments very sarcaticly much, if ever, haha, but I have to hear.

If my aunt had balls she would be my uncle. Heatley wont be giving up over 30 million dollars to play a game, haha. Dont even really think its worth the tought.

Neely...think about it...doesn't Heatley have enough money already that he doesn't have to work for the next five years?

Again, I haven't seen these questions asked...or answered. So I'm just curious if anyone knows the answers.

Naw Dave, no shot Heatley retires. Ego is waaaaaaaaay too big to even consider it my friend.