Defending Dany Heatley

What would you do if you were a top-flight winger on a team going no where?
What would you do if you had signed a six-year contract with a no movement clause by one GM, only for him to be fired four days later?
What would you do if your were on a team that consistently had a problem with both its goaltender and its defensive corps and done nothing to improve it?
What would you do if your team has had four coaches in less than two years?
What would you do if you were on a team that had gone from the Stanley Cup final to missing the playoffs in less than two years?
And what would you do if, after 24 months of this garbage you went to the GM and in confidence asked for a trade, only for him publicly state it thus greatly diminishing your trade value?

You probably would have acted like Dany Heatley has for the past three months.

That Dany Heatley was going to be traded was never an issue. He remains one of the five best pure goal scorers in the NHL. He's still only 28 and has a contract that lasts until he's 33 -not exactly at the end of his career. But the Senators have no one to blame but themselves for the events that transpired. Or specifically, GM Bryan Murray. Murray's complete mishandling of the situation has resulted in the Senators losing their best goal scorer (arguably their best player).

Heatley was not going to waive his no-movement clause until the deal was right for him because he had earned it. He wasn't going to leave until he received the roster bonus. And when a trade finally occurred it was going to be to team that Heatley wanted to play for (read: not Edmonton). The end result shouldn't surprise anyone. Heatley got his money, his trade and his chance to win a Cup. It's now on him (and the rest of the San Jose Sharks).

Finally as a little sauce for the proverbial goose, the Sharks are now in a better position to compete for the Cup without having to give up that much to get there. All the Senators were able to acquire was San Jose's second round pick (which will likely be in the end of the round) and a pair of border-line top six forwards. While it's possible that Jonathan Cheechoo will rediscover his form of '06 and Milan Michalek finally lives up to his hype, I wouldn't count on it. Hockey-wise, everything in this deal favours Heatley.