Bryan Murray Vs Dany Heatley: Who Blinks First?

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.

davetherave wrote: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.

I for sure don't think he'll retire, but for the sake of argument...

Quick hit responses:

1. Yes, any player can retire at any time.
2. Contract comes off the books (salary and cap), and lose his rights (can't retain the rights of a UFA without a contract). Consequence: Sens save $30+ mil and the cap space.
3. I would think so, but that's a guess.
4. Legally, yes, there would be no restriction that I'm aware of that could prevent him from playing in the KHL. Players retire and unretire all the time without consequence. The NHL and the KHL still don't have a working transfer agreement, so I don't see how one has anything to do with the either.
5. Can't deal the rights of someone who retires. They basically become UFAs. I'm not sure how easy or not it is to actually retire when you're under contract, tho'. Following the Niedermayer situation the other year, I got the sense that there was paper work the player had to fill out and which the GM had to complete. I wouldn't imagine any GM ever stands in the way of a guy retiring, but who knows, if you wanted to be a dick and have the guy under contract, there might be ways to prevent him or slow things down. Prolly not, tho'.

rooneypoo wrote:

davetherave wrote: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.

I for sure don't think he'll retire, but for the sake of argument...

Quick hit responses:

1. Yes, any player can retire at any time.
2. Contract comes off the books (salary and cap), and lose his rights (can't retain the rights of a UFA without a contract). Consequence: Sens save $30+ mil and the cap space.
3. I would think so, but that's a guess.
4. Legally, yes, there would be no restriction that I'm aware of that could prevent him from playing in the KHL. Players retire and unretire all the time without consequence. The NHL and the KHL still don't have a working transfer agreement, so I don't see how one has anything to do with the either.
5. Can't deal the rights of someone who retires. They basically become UFAs. I'm not sure how easy or not it is to actually retire when you're under contract, tho'. Following the Niedermayer situation the other year, I got the sense that there was paper work the player had to fill out and which the GM had to complete. I wouldn't imagine any GM ever stands in the way of a guy retiring, but who knows, if you wanted to be a dick and have the guy under contract, there might be ways to prevent him or slow things down. Prolly not, tho'.

I'm pretty certain that since Heatley has competed under the Canadian flag in IOC events, he would need written permission from the COC. He would basically need to be excused and have Canada's Olympic body to allow him to complete under another flag. This has happened several times in the past, notably Lascelles Brown, who competed for years on the Jamaican bobsled, only move to Canada and compete here for Canada. He needed to be granted a special exemption after obtaining citizenship. Also, there is the case of "Pocket Hercules", a weightlifter who switched from Bulgaria to Turkey, mid-career. So it's not just a case of declaring you want to play for another team.

Nabokov also used to play for Kazakhstan, and was allowed to play for Russia.

Tuk Tuk wrote:Nabokov also used to play for Kazakhstan, and was allowed to play for Russia.

I'm talking totally out of my Donkey, but I wonder if there was a special exemption or something to that effect after the fall of the Soviet Union. I remember an Olympics where several of those countries competed as one called the Unified team. It could be that since alot of these athletes competed as "Russians" previously, they were allowed to do so afterwards, like Nabokov. I don't remember there being too much red tape in Nabokov suiting up for Russia.

Not sure if this has been answered.

Heatley can retire, but he must stay out of the NHL for one full calendar year to void his contract, I believe.

Neely4Life wrote:Naw Dave, no shot Heatley retires. Ego is waaaaaaaaay too big to even consider it my friend.

Neely, my friend, not saying Dany will retire.

The question is, does he have that option?

The answers posted above are quite interesting.

With 14 million bucks having gone into his bank account in the last 12 months (and if he has invested smartly, who knows what his net worth is), Heatley's not exactly under pressure to come back to work.

Other pro sports give us examples of 'retirements' that served the personal agenda of players to pick and choose where they wanted to play. The case of Brett Favre comes to mind, though there of course, differences in the particular circumstances.

From what some of you are saying, it is possible Heatley could 'retire'.

And thanks to everyone for your thoughts, and especially Rooney and Hemmy for giving us more information on this.

As far as Heatley's 'ego' is concerned, the ego of a multi-millionaire is rather different than the rest of us.

Having worked with, and having interviewed, a number of ultra-rich types (or as they are known euphemistically in the media, 'High Net Worth Individuals'), I found they look at the world from the position that they have the freedom--given their wealth--to make their own rules.

In large part, I also found these HNWIs considered themselves immune to public opinion.

Does Dany Heatley think this way or not?

Time will tell us.

From Wikipedia:

While he is a Russian citizen, he was previously denied permission by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to play for Russia, because he had played for Kazakhstan as a 19-year-old in the 1994 World Championships. In 2005, Nabokov was granted permission to play for Russia in the IIHF World Championships, but declined. Nabokov had tried to gain the IIHF's permission to play for Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics, but failed as there were regulations in place forbidding players from representing two different countries. He was finally allowed to play for Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, after being given an exemption by the IIHF, and was named to the Russian team for the 2008 World Championships.

With a name like Nabokov he is certainly Russian at least on his father's side. However his father played in Kazakhstan for 18 years, so they obviously lived there. You have to remember that Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union. It would be a little bit like someone of English descent living in Montreal.

So...IF--and this is just exploring the possibility, however remote--Rooney and Hemmy are correct, and Heatley COULD 'retire':

The KHL could offer him some tax free millions (plus he gets the mansion, the car, the free flights to Canada, and all the Russian babes he wants) to play for a year...

Here's something to ponder--in the July 28 Canoe Sports Poll asking 'what should Heatley do?', over a third of the 3000-plus respondents said they thought he should head for Russia.

I think he could retire but he would be tarnishing his reputation pretty bad.

I am surprised Ottawa loses his rights so easily. Are we sure of this? He retires sits out a year and boom he's a UFA. That was not the case with Yashin. Perhaps age and the CBA have something to do with it? I imagine this would be unprecedented.

If Heatley wants to do the NHL a favour and retire, by all means...

That would be a disgusting loophole in the CBA if he can sit out one year and become a UFA.

I would literally loathe him for the rest of my life. I would go to other cities to carry signs that tell him how much I hate him. I would do anything I could do - providing it's not illegal - to make him aware of what a Diddle Donkey he is.

He would never be welcome in NHL circles again. And the team that signed him would also face the wrath I'm sure, much like Pronger in Philly. He'll be booed, but that would be nothing compared to Heatley.

This has the potential to be a massive problem for everyone involved. Wow.

SpezDispenser wrote:That would be a disgusting loophole in the CBA if he can sit out one year and become a UFA.

I would literally loathe him for the rest of my life. I would go to other cities to carry signs that tell him how much I hate him. I would do anything I could do - providing it's not illegal - to make him aware of what a Diddle Donkey he is.

He would never be welcome in NHL circles again. And the team that signed him would also face the wrath I'm sure, much like Pronger in Philly. He'll be booed, but that would be nothing compared to Heatley.

This has the potential to be a massive problem for everyone involved. Wow.

I can't imagine there is that big a loophole in the CBA personally.

MurderOnIce wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:That would be a disgusting loophole in the CBA if he can sit out one year and become a UFA.

I would literally loathe him for the rest of my life. I would go to other cities to carry signs that tell him how much I hate him. I would do anything I could do - providing it's not illegal - to make him aware of what a Diddle Donkey he is.

He would never be welcome in NHL circles again. And the team that signed him would also face the wrath I'm sure, much like Pronger in Philly. He'll be booed, but that would be nothing compared to Heatley.

This has the potential to be a massive problem for everyone involved. Wow.

I can't imagine there is that big a loophole in the CBA personally.

Me neither.

One note...in order to retire he would have to file papers with the NHL and that action would render him unable to play anywhere in the NHL from that point moving forward. Now there are two types of retired...the kind which is forever, and the kind where they annouce it but it's not official. One means Heatley's days in the NHL are done the other means no matter what he wants to do he can't. He can't play in the KHL, he can't go to Europe...he has a contract that with a team and can't get around that.

Dawg says he's not sure whether if he retires he can still play in the KHL, but he mentions that A) A legal battle would be started by the NHL keeping him from going. A contract is a contract and retired or not it limits his ability to go elsewhere...IE..most high tech companies have a similar clause that keeps retired or dismissed (quit or otherwise) from going to competitors for a period of time normally 6 months.

B) The KHL for all it's bags of money isn't a great place to play and make a living, and really do you think Heatley has the stomach to spend the rest of his career in the KHL?

Good question about retiring. If he chose that route and went overseas. I am certainly hope that Murray puts in a griveance to the NHL. This tatic would certainly tarnish the league and CBA. How could a player have more power than a GM, especially a player who requested the move, and then uses a NMC to get out of a deal he signed.