Alexei Yashin. That's the first thing that entered my mind when the new broke that Dany Heatley is seeking a trade from the Ottawa Senators.
For those who have forgotten, Yashin held out for a new contract not once, not twice, but three times before the Senators were finally able to ship him to Long Island where he proceeded to alienate a whole different group of fans.
Apparently Heatley doesn't like the role he was given by Cory Clouston, the coach the Senators brought in after the Craig Hartsburg experiment failed. Under Hartsburg, Heatley usually lined up beside Jason Spezza and averaged a little under 21 minutes a game. Clouston experimented with different line combinations and frequently split up the Spezza -Heatley duo and Heatley saw his minutes dip by about a minute a game. Clouston also shook up the Ottawa powerplay and rewarded the speedy, hard-working Ryan Shannon with time on the first PP unit, at Heatley's expense.
Fans are more than a little disappointed that Heatley appears to have soured on Clouston after only 30 games. Heatley's move comes just a year after he signed a massive, long-term contract. Last year Heatley earned an eye-popping $10 million and he still has 5 years left with Ottawa at $37.5 million.
Heatley is a proven goal scorer who should be relatively easy to move. When the Senators unloaded Alexei Yashin they got Jason Spezza and Zdeno Chara in return. Ottawa fans are hoping that GM Bryan Murray can pull off similar swap for Heatley.
Send Heat to the Isles... acquire Taveres!
Posted by: Jane Doe | June 13, 2009 at 09:08 PM