Heatley demands to be traded

Without any doubts the last season was a fairly disappointing experience for the Senators who only finished 11^th in the Eastern Conference and thus missed the playoffs. However, the issues in Ottawa seem to be deeper than underperforming on the ice as many questions surround the somewhat broken spirit of the team.

More specifically, multiple NHL All-Star Dany Heatley demanded from the Senators management to trade him to a different team as he would have no more interest in playing for Ottawa. While it was no secret that Heatley and Senators head coach Corey Clouston were not getting along well, it still was a surprise for most to hear the forward asking for a trade. Heatley has proven to be a substantial part of Ottawa’s offense as he managed to achieve an impressive total of 180 goals in just four seasons with the Senators. Throughout his career with the Atlanta Trashers and Ottawa Senators he played 507 games in which he scored 260 goals and added 283 assists for 543 points.

At first glance this issue seems to put the Senators franchise in trouble as trading an All-Star of Heatley’s caliber rarely yields equal value. Likewise, General Manager Murray made clear that he intends to get valuable assets for Heatley and would not be willing to just let him walk. However, given the fact that the salary cap is bound to go down due to the struggling economy a trade might not be so bad for Ottawa after all. Instead of having to pay a huge salary to Heatley, the Senators could go for a 1-for-2 trade which would open up the possibility of cutting their payroll to some extent and avoid paying luxury tax next year. Moreover, securing another first round draft pick would also be a viable option for the Canadian franchise. It is still up in the air where Heatley will end up, but taking the aforementioned circumstances into consideration it might turn out to be a good trade for both parties.

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