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He’s probably the least popular athlete in Canada at this point. Forget Brett Favre, Dany Heatley has drawn the ire of Canadian hockey fans with his “will he or won’t he” sage over the past 2 months. And to be honest, can you really blame hockey fans at this point? On a media conference call today, Heatley certainly didn’t take any steps to restore his tarnished image.
You can listen to the conference call here, but I highlight 3 things coming out of it. Let me preface that I’m not a mind-reader, so I don’t know WHAT Heatley has and is thinking. Also, I don’t know the guy, so I don’t know the type of guy he is. But, from his actions and past history AND from listening to the conference call today, I drew one main theme: it doesn’t seem he cares. It just seemed to me that he was going through the motions and answering questions because he had to. Hockey Canada asked him to do this, and I don’t think we got anything close to the full story. He knows he’s not well liked across the country, but in judging from his actions, it just didn’t seem that mattered to him. It’s all about what he wants and what’s best for him, and whatever anyone else thinks is immaterial.
I took 2 other things from the conference call. The first was his admission that a “diminished role” as last season progressed was the reason why he asked for a trade. His ice time and especially his powerplay time was reduced a little after new Head Coach Cory Clouston came in after the midway mark of the season. Clouston coached just 34 games with the Sens last year…and yet that was enough time for Heatley to determine his role had been scaled back. Are you for real? You’re on a 6 year contract worth over 6 mil a season! You’re a consistent 40 goal scorer! And you think your team is going to scale back your role? That’s nuts!
Look at it realistically if you will! A new coach comes in midway through the season…that’s a damn tough situation to come into! You don’t know the players well, you don’t have time to put in a system that perfectly suits your guys, and you don’t have time to perfect it. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to wait until the season was over, discuss your role in the offseason and give this new head coach (who, by the way, had your team winning) a chance with a full offseason and training camp? I really took issue with that. I really think Heatley would have been back to a huge role with that team and been positioned as a centerpiece once again…IF HE HAD GIVEN CLOUSTON AN OFFSEASON TO COME UP WITH THE RIGHT PLAN.
The other thing that I found interesting was his explanation as to why he held out on Edmonton. He said it was because it was the only option and he wanted more. Since when does he make the decisions, first of all? But further to that, I call BS. He said Edmonton wasn’t on his list. I don’t buy it. Bryan Murray isn’t a moron! He isn’t going to try and make a deal with a team you hadn’t requested. Nope, I don’t buy it and again, there has to be more than what he’s saying
That’s what I got from this…he said the easy things and didn’t ever seem to give us the answers that we were hoping for. I’ll tell you this much…if Heatley was trying to win over any of the fans he had lost, he certainly failed.
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This is what Heatley’s conference call sounded like to my ears…..ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME. He’s a punk.
PS: Ha, yeah, it sounded something like that.
- BlaineI agree, Bryan Murray should have really just waited for the off season. For the sake of Heatley and certainly the team.
When it comes to winning over the fans he lost. I believe an olyimpic gold medal would for sure do the trick..
PS: I think he’ll win over fans by just playing hockey…things like this piss people off, but fans have a short memory if their hockey team is winning, which is the way it should be. I don’t think Bryan Murray is at fault at all here though, he’s done his best in a tough situation.
- CoreyDoes anyone else think that perhaps Ottawa Sen’s Mgmt. might of thought the best thing to do to a player that screwed them by publicly demanding a trade was to screw him themselves and try to send him to the doldrums of the NHL that being Edmonton ??
Perfect place for such an immature player and that if he refused the trade (which he ended up doing) he would most certainly draw the ire of hockey fans across Canada and in turn give the Senators approval in the courts of public opinion.
PS: That’s an interesting theory. Maybe it wasn’t that thought out, but the Sens certainly knew if they agreed on a trade and it was rejected, they’d be winning in the court of public opinion.
- Deer|-|untRWho cares Pat?Do’nt get so exicited about something that has nothing to do with you and speak for yourself you’re not the “fans” spokesman did you take a scientific poll?Bet if he becomes a flame in the future you kiss his butt for an interview
PS: I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about…I never said I was speaking for the fans. That was my opinion, so I was speaking for myself.
- keonHey Keon,
What the hell were you reading? What are you, Heatley’s agent? Instead of criticizing Pat, why don’t you actually try and articulate your own opinion and wite something intelligent instead of venting whatever issues you have.
PS: Hey, he’s entitled to think I’m a moron! It might even be true!
- BlaineI hate it, the fans hate it, the Sens hate it, Edmonton hates it, but at the end of the day Heatley hasn’t really done anything wrong. He has the right to ask for a trade and he has the right to use his no trade clause.
Teams trade, demote, sit, … players all the time in the teams best interest and we don’t think much of it. Lombardi didn’t want to be traded last year. Its part of the business.
I wish Heatley presented better character and better class, and I don’t think he is doing himself any favors in the way that he has gone about things, but I have zero issues with him looking out for himself.
Besides, we don’t have the whole story. Just as it is unrealistic that Ottawa was going to underutilized Heatley it is equally as silly to think the trade request was made because Heatley felt he was underutilized. There is clearly more to the story, and until we have it we can’t pass judgment.
PS: You make a really good point man, and you’re 100% right. Dany is doing this because he can and he’s looking out for himself, which is just fine. I guess in the era of Iginla’s and Sakic’s, etc. I’m so conditioned to things being done in the most classy of manors. But I will say this…he’s handcuffed two teams and held them both for ransom. So we can’t begrudge him for looking out for #1, but I think we can say “that’s a weak move” when he starts messing with the way teams do business. But you’re right…didn’t do anything wrong, at all. And as I’ve been saying all along, we don’t know the true story…which is why I wrote this blog, because the conference call just seemed like going through the motions and we didn’t get any answers at all. So is there more to the story? Sure. I just wonder if maybe there could have been more done to keep this from being public.
- sincityOk P.S. I apologize it’s just when you said”Dany Heatley has drawn the ire of Canadian hockey fans with his “will he or won’t he” sage over the past 2 months. And to be honest, can you really blame hockey fans at this point?”maybe just say some hockey fans.I’m a hockey fan and I really don’t care what Heatley does with his team off ice I just care about my team and are they gonna do something this year or another early exit.I just believe it’s a boring story.I just never understand why people care anything about what happens on another team other than the one they are a fan of,when I listened to the fan on friday you sounded upset by it all ,you’re entitled, I should’nt have attacked you for it.Sorry also for not being very clear but this type of forum is not always the best way to get an opinion across so calm down Blaine and just give you’re opinion on the blog which I do not believe you articulated in you’re comments or are you just here hunting for people to attack
PS: No, I get what you’re saying…but when I wrote this on Friday afternoon, there were a tone of emails from listeners who were very critical of the guy. So you’re right, it’s not “all hockey fans” but I think it’s fair to say “the majority of hockey fans”. I’m not UPSET about it, not at all…I just hate lame cop-out excuses, and I thought that’s what we heard on the conference call, that’s why I was a little fired up, that’s all.
- keonI have to say that sincity has really thought this through. Meanwhile “Keon” must be the president of the Dany Heatley fanclub and is upset at all this negativity directed at his idol.
You’re not a moron Pat, the evidence shows in that you get the most responses on these blogs and cover a nice wide variety of sporting topics that keep your “fan-base” interested in your views and ideas (yes, I said you have a fan-base…feel free to brag about that to Kerr and Boomer)
While Dany Heatley is not the first young athlete to put himself before the team and his team-mates, he also won’t be the last. Pat, did you or anyone reading this have a chance to read Eric Francis’ column over the week-end. He wrote about both Dany Heatley and Craig Adams…while Heatley was talking, Adams was celebrating his 2nd Stanley Cup win. It was a great read and the story about Adams is one we don’t hear about too often. Which is a shame as most scripture is wasted on the likes of Heatley, while the athletes like Adams are the ones deserving of the attention. Check on the Sun’s archives if your interested.
PS: I’m not sure about a fan base, but thanks anyway Bob! You’re right, I thought sincity thought it through and I agree with him for the most part. I did read that from Eric, he’s always good at busting out some levity, that’s for sure.
- Bob in the AbbeyI’m starting to think that I’m the only one who sees it like this:
If Heatley was not playing on a Canadian team (or not even Canadian himself) and had gone through this the same way, no one would care. But, I think, the fact that he’s Canadian, playing on a Canadian team and looking to move to, say, a warmer climate(I’m guessing south of the boarder), that is what is getting peoples panties in a bunch. How dare a Canadian player on a Canadian team want to play on a non-Canadian team. Grow up people, I would love to get the heck out of the winters and into the sunshine daily. Heck maybe he should have just come out and said he wanted to play on a contender. That usually get greeted with high praise for honestly and being competitive.
PS: I know that’s not where I’m coming from, but I think you have a fair point…it might be a part of why there is such a large group of people unhappy. Had this been an American player on an American team, would it be as big a story…clearly, no, but that’s the nature of the beast in this country. But let me throw this out…when Eli Manning forced a trade from San Diego, how many people (Chargers fans and otherwise) said the exact same thing? “Guy is a pre-madonna punk” and things of the like…so I think you’re right to an extent, but I also think fans don’t like to see millionaire athletes act like millionaries.
- RyanKeon,
I am not here to attack people. If anything, I want to contribute to a debate which, in this case, surrounds and individual (Heatley) who is, in my opinion, has brought a lot of this negative attention and reaction upon himself. Talent wise, Heatley is a superstar in the NHL and as such, many people – fans and management – hold him to a certain standard, both on and off the ice. He certainly has the right to ask to be traded, but what has caught the ire of many people is doing it in such a public way, and then some of the comments he made in his conference call. He, in my opinion, came across as a little disingenuous and selfish, and has put Ottawa (and himself) in a very tough spot. His salary, and in a lot of ways this act, is going to be a deterrant for a lot of teams. I will be VERY interested to see what happens if he has to start the season with the Senators and if he, the Senators management and the rest of the team, will be able to work things out, at least publically, and put on a united front going into the season.
PS: I wonder how many teams have shyed away from Heatley in recent days? It’s interesting to think about, because he is still an elite hockey player, there is no question about it. But, with that salary and with the saga that has played out, I wouldn’t be surprised if it has made a few GM’s a little gun shy.
- BlaineHey P. Sein, you make a good point and comparison with Manning. The only problem is that Manning never played for the Chargers (if memory serves). He wanted out before he even laced up in the big leagues. Now if we want to talk pre-madonna, that’s it. As for the millionaire athletes acting like millionaires. What else are they supposed to do? They get paid ridiculously large amounts of money to play a game, a sport. If I were in that position, people would think I’ve gone insane. They wake up every morning and know that if they want something, anything they can have it. That sort of knowledge would drive any sane man stupid.
PS: No, it’s a good point Ryan, and I really can’t put myself in that situation because I’ve never been a millionaire. I guess when you look at the all the class acts there are out there in this league (Iginla, Crosby, Thornton, etc) it conditions you to expect something to be one way. Fact of the matter is, I might do the exact same thing if I was in the same situation…I don’t THINK I would, but I can’t say so with absolute certainty.
- Ryan