Howdy and Happy Canada Day! No frowning today, even if Heatley is pulling a Yashin or worse. No news on whether Dany has woken up yet...I guess when he does he will find a deal from the Oilers for Penner, Cogliano and Smid (same as yesterday) and maybe a deal with the Rangers for Dubinsky, Staal and various other spare parts which will make the Senators a much worse team than the EDM deal. So as we sit and wait on Dany's descision I have to think the NHLPA isn't too pleased. How can any GM give a player a no-movement clause unless you're an Iginla-like player...a player with a high skill set and high moral fibre. This no-movement clause thing was all the rage a few seasons back. Now any GM that gives one out should have a fanbase asking a million questions why he/she did it. While I don't blame Muckler for giving it, in the future players with criminal records shouldn't be given these clauses. If you can't be trusted with a car, you shouldn't be trusted with a clause that restricts the team from moving you. If you don't think the above statement is a fair one...don't read my blogs. Edmonton wasn't on Heatley's list. Must be the whole 'City of Champions' slogan. New York was and NYR GM Sather knows it. The rumour was with Gomez out, Heatley would be in. I imagine the Rangers offer was WAY worse then the Oilers. Look at the Rangers roster/prospects...how could it be better? Who knows how this will end. Heatley may end up in Edmonton in the 11th hour after all other options have been exhausted. Or Murray might be forced to deal with to the Big Apple. Or he doesn't go anywhere thus laying the groundworks for a train-wreck season. Clearly the first two options are what EVERY Sens fan should be hoping for. Which brings me to the stupidity I read in several blogs. First off let me tell you how tired I am of reading 'the two-time 50 goal scorer' before Heatley's name. 7 NHL seasons, scored 50 goals twice. Also got all those goals playing with Hall-of-Famer to be Daniel Alfredsson and perenninal top-10 scorer Jason Spezza. Here's some great stats; Danny Gare, Buffalo forward from the 70's scored 50 goals twice too. Another former Sabre Rick Martin has two-50 goal seasons. Heard of Dennis Maruk? He scored back-to-back 50 goal campaigns with Washington...scored 60 the second season. Starting to see my point? Heatley hasn't come anywhere near scoring 50 goals in the last two seasons and there is a better chance of him never doing it again then doing it. He is 28 years old and exiting his prime. Downturn of his career. So when Sens fans rip Bryan Murray for 'not getting full value' for Heatley, they are misguided at best. I hate to break it to you but Heatley's two years of barely breaking 50 goals happened TWO full seasons ago. What Murray got in a deal from Edmonton is exactly what Heatley is worth. He isn't on the same level as a 35-year old Chris Pronger. Given the choice would ANY GM in the NHL pick Heatley or Pronger? Not one. Heatley's worth isn't based on what he did two years ago...who cares? It's what he has done lately which is barely reach 40 goals once and 39 the next. It's falling production and effort on a nightly basis. It's signing to a long-term, no-movement deal then demanding to be trading because someone called him out for coasting on the ice. It's giving the Senators very few options of teams to trade him too, then when a perfecftly good deal is reached, rejecting it. And I read how Sens fans say 'we should keep him'. Huh? Out of spite? I guess these are the same Sens fans that cheered us missing the playoffs last season...you know the Sens fans who are really Leafs fans. How can you be a fan of our team but think it is a good decision to keep Heatley? Did you not watch any of the games he played in last season? If he didn't have a no-movement clause Bryan Murray would be SHOPPING Heatley at this point. $7.5 mil. a season plus a $4 mil. bonus doesn't equal 79 goals over two full seasons. Oh and one blogger suggested that because Heatley had more hits then Alfie, we should all leave him alone. Huh? Milan Michalek had more hits than Heatley in less games. So what does that tell you? Is this blogger suggesting Alfie, not Heatley was the one coasting through most of last season? Also enough moron bloggers have suggested we keep Heatley only to make him sit out. Until when...until his contract runs out? Until he really gets out of shape and becomes even less moveable? Look being mad and being stupid aren't the same thing. Keeping Heatley makes no sense and helps our franchise in no way. He isn't magically going to start scoring 50 goals again. The city isn't going to start loving him again and his character isn't going to be positively looked at by other GM's again. He is damaged goods and the sooner he is gone, the better for the Senators. To end we are lucky ANY team has interest in this guy, especially given the fact someone will have to pay him $4 million bucks after his worst season since he was a rookie in Atlanta. So for Sens fans to say the Oiler deal that Murray and Co. have been backed into a corner with is 'not enough' is plain stupid. I can only hope Edmonton still wants Heatley after being rejected once. I do not want him going to NYR, because the offer will be brutal. Colin Jeffrey www.mvn.com/senatorsrow colin_jeffrey@hotmail.com