/insert confused emoticon here

Why the heck should Edmonton increase their offer if the number of places Heatley might go has decreased (Gaborik to Rangers, Hossa to Chicago, Havlat to Minnesota)?  He has fewer options now than he did before if he wants out of Ottawa.

If anything, Edmonton should reduce their offer and take advantage of the situation as best they can to dump some unwanted contracts on the Senators, not offer more in trade.  That would be stupid.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 12:23 PM ET

There are three times as many stupid GMs as there are smart GMs, Baroque.

Posted by cs6687 on 07/02/09 at 12:28 PM ET

I know, but THAT stupid?

I know nothing about running a hockey team and don’t pretend to, but in anything in life, if the demand drops then you don’t offer more money for it. That is just basic “freshman in college need to take it for a stupid requirement even though it isn’t in my major econ 101” level knowledge.  I’m not surprised they aren’t all brilliant, but I’d expect them to have more sparking in their cerebral cortex neurons than you would expect from licking a dead nine volt battery.

But the more important question is why can’t I ever have someone this stupid dealing with me?  I could show up an hour late to work each day, do a half-assed job, and get regular enormous raises to keep me motivated and happy!

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 12:33 PM ET

Baroque -

Heatley doesn’t want to go to EDM.

Nobody does.  Why WOULD they?

Don’t be fooled though—other Canadian GM’s and execs won’t help feed that idea by coming out and saying it because it then weakens Canada’s position and point of pride.  Murray’s not going to come right out and say “Dany refuses to go to EDM—he just plain doesn’t want to go there” because that would be weakening a Canadian market and franchise, even though we all know that’s what it is all about.  They’ll protect a Canadian one, but freely blast an American one.  It’s the way the NHL works.

If Dany had wanted to go to EDM, the deal would have gotten done early yesterday.  That it didn’t told everyone that Dany had no desire to go to EDM and was going to see to it that he didn’t have to.

Murray knows there are months still until the season starts, and that Dany’s trade value will hold fast and firm as opening night closes in.  SOMEONE will panic and overpay for him.  NHL GM’s are predictable that way.

It continues to speak VOLUMES that EDM can offer up the entire city to free agents and they still refuse to go.

Posted by Primis on 07/02/09 at 12:35 PM ET

yeah that’s ridiculous Bryan Murray - this is almost as much your fault as heatley’s. your demand was too high when it should have been low before the money was due. you waited and waited and took a decent offer to a team that you knew was not on Heatleys list.

the Rangers were knocking, pretty good chance Heatley says yes to New York, but you turn it down and now this is your situation. you missed your opportunity and screwing with the only offer you have is stupid.

the best hope he has is the LA kings who lost out on Hossa and Havlat and said no to Gaborik.

Posted by themanicranger on 07/02/09 at 12:35 PM ET

And I should add, it also speak volumes that aplayer can demand to be traded, EDM can make an offer, and that player always seems to freely apply to “no- movement” clause.

What other NHL franchise has this problem?

Posted by Primis on 07/02/09 at 12:37 PM ET

I feel bad for the Oilers, they’re a great franchise that for some reason has become the red headed stepchild in terms of where players want to play. Thats a shame. But Heatley has the right to exercise his No No. There is nothing wrong with him doing that, he just shouldnt have been an a hole and make his demand public.

Posted by themanicranger on 07/02/09 at 12:41 PM ET

It makes you wonder what the long term viability of the Oilers is, if players refuse to go their and the ones that do, want to leave? They best get that new arena built or someone will come along and steal the team, arena’s are always the reason used when teams leave town.

Posted by Tero from Tacoma on 07/02/09 at 12:57 PM ET

There is nothing wrong with him doing that, he just shouldnt have been an a hole and make his demand public.

Well, in his defense, not that I agree with anything he is doing, reports came out that Heatly asked for a trade during the season last year, while a good majority of people did not find out until the offseason a few weeks ago.  He didn’t go straight public with it, but information like that has a way of being leaked. 

I tend to blame Murray and the front office more, but I think they’re both making a mess of things.

Posted by Russian Rocket on 07/02/09 at 12:59 PM ET

Oh, I realize that Heatley doesn’t want to go to Edmonton - but that doesn’t mean that the Oilers should have to sweeten their offer to Ottawa to their detriment.

This is an issue between Heatley and the Senators, as I see it.

Heatley wants out.

Ottawa says, fine.  We have an offer from Edmonton.

Heatley:  No, I don’t want Edmonton!  What about New York?

Ottawa:  We don’t have an offer from New York that we like.

Heatley:  I really don’t want to go to Edmonton.

Oilers:  PLEASE COME HERE!  PLEASE!

********(here is how it should go)********

Ottawa:  Look, you want out of Ottawa.  Edmonton is out of Ottawa.  They have the best offer from our viewpoint on the table for you.  New York spent your money on Gaborik, Los Angeles isn’t going to spend on a malcontent when they are trying to build a good culture for their young players, San Jose isn’t interested.  You are down to Ottawa or Edmonton, and if you want out that badly I suggest to stop throwing a hissy fit because you don’t get exactly what you want and waive your NTC before they wise up and save their cap space for their own young players and for someone who might actually have more maturity than a toddler, because we are going to go with whatever deal doesn’t screw us for the future regardless of what your delicate sensibilities can put up with.

Take the trade to Edmonton before they pull it off the table or stay in Ottawa and actually try working with the new coach that at least has the team winning more than they did under the old guy who didn’t expect you to work, you big baby.

Beggars can’t be choosers, Dany boy - and you are not in a position to be excessively picky.

(That’s what Ottawa should say to him, anyway.)

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 01:02 PM ET

Beggars can’t be choosers, Dany boy - and you are not in a position to be excessively picky.

oh but he is, what are the Sens going to do? They’re not going to spend 7.5 mill for him to play in the AHL. They’re also dont want him to be a Senator. The balls in the Sens court. They need to figure this out, not Heatley.

Posted by themanicranger on 07/02/09 at 01:06 PM ET

the NHL is becoming a huge F*cking joke.  the Oiler fans and corporate sponsors pay a huge chunk of these whiny butt-hurt “Good old Canadian boy” babies salaries through revenue sharing and then no one wants to go play there.

“Dany likes lambos, sun and models.”

you should have got a different job then, Kid, because no one wants to watch your crappy ass “skill” of hitting a rubber puck around where theres sun and models except for the bandwagon playoff run.

Bettman is trying to put hockey in deserts while the gold mine of hockey fans in Edmonton is looked at as a desert by the majority of league players who grew up in climates similar.

these socially retarded rink rats need some real perspective in their lives.

Posted by Death Metal Nightmare from MKE on 07/02/09 at 01:10 PM ET

If Dany wants out of Ottawa that badly, and Edmonton is the only option Ottawa is offering him, then he is the beggar.  Conversely, if Ottawa wants him gone so badly, then the Senators are the beggar.

Either way it’s not up to Edmonton to sweeten the offer to Ottawa - it’s up to Ottawa to deal with what they have on the table and either make their disgruntled forward accept the deal they have or cope with staying in Ottawa.  If he doesn’t want to go to Edmonton, it isn’t up to Edmonton to bribe Ottawa to lean on him some more to accept a trade.

If Heatley were a UFA it would be different, but he has a contract at a set value already.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 01:28 PM ET

This is Exhibit #34578932457348 in why you don’t just nonchalantly sign guys to contracts with No Movement clauses…

It amazes me that GM’s still haven’t learned this.  If he didn’t have that clause, they could have sent him to EDM and he couldn’t have done a thing about it.

Posted by Primis on 07/02/09 at 01:29 PM ET

RE: Why the Oilers should have to offer more.

The reason is that $4 million of Heatley’s contract has now been paid by the Sens. That means the Oil would save $4 million real dollars over what they would have spent yesterday. Conversely, Ottawa has spent that money and if they trade Heatley now, they’d expect some sort of return on their investment.

Keep in mind that ‘improving the offer’ may in fact mean the Oilers taking on more players from Ottawa (Christoph Schubert and Jason Smith being the most likely).

Posted by Da lil Guy from Ottawa on 07/02/09 at 01:31 PM ET

But it wasn’t Edmonton’s responsibility to force Heatley to accept the trade before the bonus kicked in.  If he wanted to stick it to Ottawa by making them pay it, it isn’t Edmonton’s problem, it’s Ottawa’s.

This is business and has nothing to do with being fair and even handed.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/02/09 at 01:38 PM ET

SURE, it wasn’t edmonton’s responsibility to force Heatley to accept the trade before the bonus kicked in, but it was to their advantage.  If heatley excepted the deal, he would have been a steal, and they could use “money” to their advantage and get him for less then he is worth.  Say all you want about heatley being the devil, or the evilest man on the planet, he is still an elite hockey player that many would want on their team.

Did you ever figure, that his market value ONLY GOES UP now?
Think about this, yes many teams have already filled their holes and used up their cap space.  HOWEVER, there are still many teams who have lost out on the bidding wars and have huge holes.  Leave to the fact that they no longer have to pay an extra 4 million to him, only makes it more attractive.

There are no longer any elite players available in the ufa market.

Posted by Luongo-is-my-hero on 07/02/09 at 04:07 PM ET