Warren2ThaG Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0211/fantasy_g_heatley_300.jpgOilers haven't given up on Heatley"Dany Heatley voluntarily jumps into Okanagan Lake every morning over the summer, so the Oilers would derive precious little satisfaction from telling him to go do it. You know, should they actually get up off their knees and move along like the proud, professional franchise they ought to be. Instead, as their management waits by cellphones, BlackBerrys, pagers and computer monitors for the slightest utterance from Heatley, the erstwhile Ottawa Senators sniper seemingly controls the fates of two National Hockey League franchises with his silence. The truth is only slightly different than that widely held perception. Heatley could in fact force the Oilers to get on with their lives by issuing a blanket refusal to waive his no-movement clause for a trade to Edmonton. But in the absence of such reason and benevolence, the only man who can push these follies to a logical dropping of the curtain now is Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray. That's the reality. Murray does not hold all the cards, only those left to him after Heatley's trade demand went public and the pending swap with Edmonton went sour at the last possible moment. Though Murray still deals from a position of undeniable weakness, he knows he has to ante up again. Despite owner Eugene Melnyk's laughable musings earlier this week about having a contrite and welcome Heatley at training camp, there is a far better chance that Heatley will ride the Ogopogo through the streets of Kelowna. Heatley has not changed his mind about the issues that provoked the trade demand, which was sent to Murray in the guise of a formal request. He isn't going to tuck his tail between his legs and slink back into Ottawa, where he tops even the Bloc Quebecois, Canada Revenue Agency and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's myopic PR man on a list of pariahs. The only resolution is an acceptable trade proposal and the waiving of Heatley's no-movement clause, in that order. That sequence of events won't occur unless and until Murray presents the Heatley camp with at least two more potential destinations in addition to Edmonton. As luck would have it, a source close to the situation said Friday that Murray is in fact dealing with two other teams who have a genuine interest in acquiring Heatley, but neither team had formalized an offer. There is no need to wonder why the saga continues to lurch along into the dog days of summer. NHL general managers have almost as much money as the fourth-liners they overpay, so they spend it on lake houses that must be used after the free-agent frenzy and prior to training camp. That suggests September as the new deadline for a resolution, but even that's not a hard and fast date. The frenzied activity that produced the ill-fated, three-for-one swap with the Oilers was provoked by a$4-million salary payment the Senators, or his new team, were contractually obligated to pay Heatley on July 1. That cheque was written by Melnyk and cashed by Heatley, effectively putting a deal on the back burner."-------http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/edmonton-oilers/Oilers+haven+given+Heatley/1780951/story.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phightins Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Too bad it is out of the Oilers' control...and the Sens' for that matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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