Heatley staying put... for now

hemlock wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Thank God it is an Olympic year, otherwise I actually might be worried about Heatley's on ice performance. This works in The Sens favour for now... next step for Ottawa, how to get under the cap? Shouldnt be that hard, a lot of pieces that can be waived or sent down to Bingo.

We are just over the cap, so I don't think that's a worry. I wonder what happens with Heatley, if we cannot find a taker one year from today? We won't have the Olympics to keep him motivated. I still say he'll be gone by the deadline...for less than we'd like. Once the Oylmpics are over(barring a change of heart), I fully expect this guy to put on his cloak of invisibility. Murray will be forced to deal him at the deadline for a couple of players and a pick I'd say.

If The Sens are in the playoff picture or competing for the division, Heatley wont go anywhere. That being said, his value will be a lot higher at the draft with a good year under his belt, 1 less year on his contract, and 18 mil already paid.

The best thing for both sides is for Heatley to rip it up next year.

Neely4Life wrote:The best thing for both sides is for Heatley to rip it up next year.

That would be nice, very nice. Alfie, Spezza, Kovalev and Heater all ripping it up. Ahhh... dare to dream. We'll see...

Neely4Life wrote: If The Sens are in the playoff picture or competing for the division, Heatley wont go anywhere. That being said, his value will be a lot higher at the draft with a good year under his belt, 1 less year on his contract, and 18 mil already paid.

The best thing for both sides is for Heatley to rip it up next year.

Neely>question for you...if teams were indeed reluctant to take on Heatley because of his annual cap hit and term of the contract, do you see that reluctance changing, if Dany comes back to Ottawa and plays, say, to last year's level?

Depends what happens everywhere else honestly. For now though, Heatley is in Ottawa.

If Heatley has a mediocre year, it will be just as tough to move him... I'm sure that's weighing on BM's mind too. Anything can happen.

I dont see how Heatley wont be producing if he stays healthy.

Heatley and his agents are going to have to do MAJOR damage control now otherwise this will drag on all year.

Hopefully this isnt a disraction and The Sens can play through it. If not, it could be ugly just as easily as it could be great.

Neely4Life wrote:I dont see how Heatley wont be producing if he stays healthy.

I guess it all depends on where his head is at. With Alfie, Spezza and Kovy... how can he not produce?

shabbs wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:I dont see how Heatley wont be producing if he stays healthy.

I guess it all depends on where his head is at. With Alfie, Spezza and Kovy... how can he not produce?

Shabbs>IMHO you nailed it. Even more than, 'how will the team react to Heatley', the question may be 'how will Heatley react to the team?'

It's one thing to assume that playing alongside Kovalev, for example, would motivate him...but does anyone really know how the two will get along?

If, say, the Sens hit a rough patch...as all teams do at some point in the year...how does Dany respond/not?

Not a comfortable situation for Clouston, I would think...as he needs everyone to be 'with the program' from Day One.

Clouston has the support of managment and the players, things wont be uncomfortable with Clouston, that much I'm certain of. Murray has firmly put his support behind Clouston, not Heatley.

Clouston will run the show as he sees fit and do what needs to be done, just as he did at the tail end of last season. If Heatley has a suck attack, well, they'll just have to deal with it.

Pretty much it, I dont think he will though, again, The Olympics are going to play in Ottawa's favour.

If Heatley stays, it will be a very good test of the team's internal leadership. I am truly worried that this could be a circus.

Where's Rooney Poo to douse all this enthusiasm with a bucket of cold reality check?

Are the Oilers the only team that could afford Heatley and need scoring?

Why are the Olympics such a draw for Dany? He's young enough to play in Sochi in 2012 and, besides, he's got the record for Canada in international competition. I don't think anyone is going to catch him for a while.

I'm still holding out hope that he sits out or something goes down at the last hour.

I'll do my best Dr. Poo impression...

"If Heatley stays, we're SCREWED in the 2010/11 season!!!!"

Thank you.

That was a pretty poor impression shabbs. That is the coles notes version at best.

Heatley tearing it up this season and Marleau's contract expiering next year may be way better for The Sens in the long run. Also, with a successful season this year it will raise the stock of the franchise as well and might be able to attract some better UFA's.

Again, the best thing for The Sens and Heatley is for Heatley to tear it up. A 50 goal season from Heatley and other teams knowing he is available now, who at season's end might make room, is a better situation then right now. Next year if Heatley is here though The Sens are def in some cap trouble... we'll see though.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:That was a pretty poor impression shabbs. That is the coles notes version at best.

Coles notes is how I roll... I'll leave the long-winded, big worded diatribes for Dr. Poo.