Per NHL.com:
Disgruntled Dany Heatley broke his summer-long silence Friday, saying that his request for a trade from Ottawa still stands. He also said the reason he nixed a potential trade to Edmonton earlier this summer was because he wants multiple options as to where he can continue his career and has never gotten that from the Senators.
“There’s nothing with Edmonton personally, I just think when we asked for a trade we wanted to go about it together and we wanted some options and to this date there has only one option,” Heatley said during a conference call he conducted from his summer home in Kelowna, B.C. “At the time the only option was Edmonton and I wasn’t ready to make a decision at that time — and I’m still not ready to make a decision until there are other options.”
Heatley, who has come under fire in both Ottawa and Edmonton and has been painted as a bad guy by many pundits around the League, said he’s requesting a trade from Ottawa because he feels his role with the Senators has diminished over the last two years, specifically last season, and he wants to go to a team that believes he can be a player in all different situations.
Senators General Manager Bryan Murray speculated earlier this summer that part of what is driving Heatley’s request is the diminished ice time he got under new coach Cory Clouston after he took behind the bench over for Craig Hartsburg on Feb. 2.
When asked about that specifically, Heatley didn’t go into detail, but he did say that if no trade is made by Sept. 12, when Ottawa opens training camp opens, he will honor his contract. He still has five years and more than $30 million left on a deal he signed two years ago.
“It’s definitely not Cory solely,” Heatley said. “I think the main reason for me is when I signed in Ottawa two years ago, I thought it was to be an integral part of the team. Over the last two years, I feel my role has diminished — and especially this past season it diminished a lot more. A diminished role is the biggest thing. I feel I’m a player who can play in a lot of different situations. I’m an offensive guy, but I take pride in all aspects of the game and I don’t feel I was given that role on the team.”
Although the Oilers are the only team that publicly put on a full-court press to get Heatley, a two-time 50-goal scorer who will be in Calgary next week with the rest of Canada’s Olympic hopefuls, Heatley firmly believes there are other teams that are interested. It’s why he reiterated his trade request.
“I know there are other teams out there,” Heatley said. “I don’t feel I can make the right decision until there are a few options. (The Oilers) were not on my initial list of teams I gave the Senators to talk to. When that trade came up, it came as a big surprise and I wasn’t ready at that time — nor am I now — to make that decision.”
