"While it is true that he requested a trade, it was not Dany Heatley or his agent that made that fact public. I think Dany's been unfairly treated by the media and by the (Senators) organization."
- Paul Kelly NHLPA boss
One of the biggest complaints raised about Heatley's trade request was that it was made public reducing the value that Ottawa could have received in trade.
Turns out it wasn't Heatley who leaked it. So if it wasn't Heatley or his agent, that leaves Ottawa brass.
I've been arguing all along that Murray has clusterf*cked this whole thing from the start;
- He brought in a rookie coach who used strong arm tactics to take control of the room. Not by benching Spezza (they were trying to trade him), or Alfredsson (the Captain) but by going after the teams real alpha-dog, Heatley.
- When Heatley met with the coach and GM to address the issue he was blown off.
- When Heatley made his trade request in private, they did nothing.
- Ottawa brass eventually leaked the trade request, damaging their own position severely.
- Engaged in a massive media offensive that attempted to paint Heatley in the most negative light possible, further driving down his value.
- Attempted to trade him to the Oilers - a team not on Heatley's list, leaked the information to the media, and then publicly pouted when Heatley declined. All so they can play the victim.
All of which has me thinking the Senators are quite possibly the worst run organization in the league - including Tampa Bay.
4 comments:
Which brings us to ownership. Murry is not a complete moron but he has gotten to where he is currently more by befriending the the owner, IMO, than by his own merrits and that poses a problem.
Involved owners can be great romantics in the game, super-duper-fans, but they make poor general managers. This is a sad fact as only a massive lottery-win coupled with a couple of astute stock-market picks will every give me the resources to buy an NHL team (with the possible exceptions of Nashville, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Phoenix, ...) but I digress.
I haven't read it yet but I understand that the transformation in Detroit, found in "Hockeytown", was really a transformation in ownership learing to hire professionals and then let them do what they do best.
Ottawa, and perhaps Edmonton - though we will have to see, are showing signs of not learning that lesson. Until they do, they are in for some rough times.
I agree with much of Cam's assessment - but I think Heatley (and his agent) still had a huge part to play in the whole mess.... i.e. there would be no mess if 1) Heatley had played better last season and 2) he honors his contract after Ottawa did him a huge service in leaving Atlanta and 3) more specifically attemps to get along with the coach + GM
Doug - if you had massive money, you could become the proud owner of the Toronto Maple Laughs.
Brian said:
i.e. there would be no mess if 1) Heatley had played better last season
Cameron: Heatley lead the team in goals and was second in points. This was despite the fact;
- all the puck moving defensemen were traded away or signed elsewhere. Only journeyman Filip Kuba could get it out of his own zone.
- Heatley's powerplay and ice-time were drastically cutback
- Spezza (his normal playmaking center) struggled through a terrible season
- Mike Fisher (who Heatley was often inexplicably paired with) also suffered through a terrible season.
Despite all this Heatley nearly scored 40 goals (39).
Brian also said:
and 2) he honors his contract after Ottawa did him a huge service in leaving Atlanta
Cameron: The favour done to bring Heatley to Ottawa was four years ago - and was initiated by GM John Muckler, now long gone.
Brian:
and 3) more specifically attemps to get along with the coach + GM
Cameron: All indications are that Heatley raised the issues internally, didn't poison the locker room with his concerns (his team mates had no idea he was requesting a trade or pissed at mgt), and didn't make it public. In short he did exactly what a professional athlete with a gripe should do; raise the issue privately, and shut up publicly.
It was Ottawa mgt that; mishandled his ice-time, refused to address his concerns, leaked his trade request, tried to trade him to a team he didn't want to play for, mislead the Oilers mgt, and blasted Heatley in the press driving down his value. It is the single biggest cock-up I can recall in dealing with a star player.
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