News and Views: Heatley might increase value in spite of himself
Dany Heatley says he never wanted to create a circus and that none of this is his fault. That's his view. Here are some of ours.
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| Heatley hopes to play for Team Canada at the Games in Vancouver. (Getty Images) |
Views: Maybe there is something more important to Dany Heatley than Dany Heatley. Like being on Team Canada at the Olympics in Vancouver next February. Heatley wants a prized spot on the team's roster, and his previous international success for Canada and scoring talent normally would give him an inside track on one. But the controversy surrounding Heatley's selfish-looking attempt to wriggle out of his $45 million contract with the Ottawa Senators this offseason has raised questions about the 28-year-old's character, something Team Canada officials will weigh heavily as they put together a lineup that will have only a few days to jell. No doubt Heatley was "encouraged" by Team Canada officials to help avoid any unnecessary distractions at its Olympic orientation camp this week by addressing the situation publicly for the first time. But Heatley didn't really explain anything during a conference call and came up lame about the veto he used to reject a trade to Edmonton. All Heatley could offer was that he still wanted out of Ottawa because his role had diminished while at the same time insisting he is a "team guy." That's a hard argument to make halfway through a rich contract extension you gladly signed a couple of years ago. But Heatley will get a chance to prove it, and quite likely with the Senators, because he said he would report and play if they can't trade him. In theory, Ottawa might be stuck with a disgruntled player, but this one has something to prove to Team Canada officials in the first half of the season. And from a Senators' perspective, if he does, that can't hurt Heatley's trade value.
News: Sharks strip Patrick Marleau of captaincy.
Views: If you believe the San Jose Sharks have been the NHL's biggest underachievers since the lockout ended -- and many do -– then Marleau losing the "C" is no surprise. The veteran center has been captain for four seasons and has produced acceptable results in terms of individual numbers. Problem is, each of those seasons ended in disappointment -- if not outright embarrassment -- for a team that is among the most talented in the league and that Marleau was supposed to lead. The most recent ouster in the first round last spring was the most difficult for the Sharks, who won their first Presidents' Trophy under rookie coach Todd McLellan and then showed no fight against the Anaheim Ducks. The upshot was that GM Doug Wilson was under pressure to shake things up, and Marleau's name has again come up in trade rumors, as it has for the past couple of seasons. But Marleau still has a no-trade clause to protect the final year of his contract, and players generally don't like to leave the San Jose area where the weather is great, and you can really leave the job at the rink. Maybe being humiliated in such a public way could help change his mind or, at the very least, light a fire under him.
News: Chris Chelios still looking for a job.
Views: Chelios could probably have one pretty quickly if he could accept skating around practices without any pads on. The 47-year-old American hockey legend was on ice in warm-ups and with a whistle helping the coaching staff at Team USA's Olympic orientation camp last week and looked in as good shape as the players, many of whom were in diapers when Chelios arrived in the NHL. But the veteran told reporters he still wants to play and is willing to go to the Russian league or play in the AHL if that's what it takes. The cap-stretched Red Wings didn't offer a contract to a shoo-in Hall of Famer, who still believes he has something to contribute. But no one has either, and the message seems to be lost on Chelios.
News: Battle lines over Olympic future drawn at orientation camp.
Views: During one of his media sessions, Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said he really believed the talk about this being the last Olympics for NHL players was all about posturing for the next collective bargaining. And it clearly is. Team USA GM Brian Burke kept telling the media assembled for the orientation camp that there was no benefit to the league when the Games were not in North America, but at the same time, union boss Paul Kelly kept reminding everyone that the players had a say in the decision and were overwhelmingly in favor of continuing to participate. The truth is league officials genuinely believe the gains are not worth the trouble of shutting down for two weeks in middle of a season. But with the players so set on being there, the owners could turn that into a valuable tradeoff at the bargaining table when this CBA expires in 2011.
News: Balsillie makes another enemy.
Views: Blackberry mogul Jim Balsillie had reason to be upset after his latest ownership bid was rebuffed by the NHL's Board of Governors. He just shouldn't have let anyone know, because it might have destroyed Balsillie's dream of getting a franchise once and for all. Balsillie has been desperate to buy a team and move it to Hamilton for more than nearly three years, but even his apparently unlimited resources haven't been able to make that happen. Instead, Balsillie has attempted to ram his way in through the front and back doors and now is hoping that a bankruptcy court in Arizona will create an entry path for him with the Phoenix Coyotes. Even so, the league has again rejected him for membership in its private club, citing his lack of "integrity and character," traits that Balsillie said in an Arizona court filing were never concerns of the league when it admitted previous owners -- several of whom ran afoul of the law. That reference didn't win Balsillie any new friends on the board and prompted respected Senators owner Eugene Melnyk to publicly send a pretty clear message on behalf of his counterparts. "I clearly believe the sport of hockey is better off without him."
News: Mats Sundin still deciding on his future.
Views: What would the dog days of August be without trying to figure out if Sundin's heart is still into playing hockey? But really, wouldn't everyone be better off if the big Swede just stuck to celebrity poker? Sundin was supposed to tell everyone if he wanted to play again by the end of July, but now his agent is overseas because the timetable has been pushed back and no one knows how far. Last year, Sundin took until December before letting a pro-rated $10 million contract from Vancouver convince him to get on skates, and then he essentially went through the motions while failing to live up to that kind of salary. Maybe that was to be expected from someone who wouldn't waive a no-trade clause for the rebuilding Maple Leafs a couple of years back because he said he wouldn't feel right about winning a Stanley Cup on a team he joined in midseason. The Canucks changed his outlook with the right number of zeroes, and they were fortunate to have enough cap room not to get burned by it. But if they really are among the four of five teams Sundin's agent claims are interested in his client, you have to ask yourself why?
