Heatley's silence speaks volumes

Dany Heatley's trade request has made the Ottawa Senators' summer seem even longer and more arduous than it should have been. The Sens missed the play-offs for the first time since 1996 and have not been on the ice since early April. That frustration has been magnified by their star goal-scorer asking for a move, and then vetoing a trade to the Edmonton Oilers. Now the San Jose Sharks are interested in him - and they should be swimming scared.

Heatley, 28, was coming off his worst full-season since his rookie year, but it was still a major surprise when he asked for a move in early June. The request came just 12 months into his six-year, US$45million (Dh165m) contract and only eight months since he had been made one of the team's assistant captains, after asking the coaching staff for more responsibility. The reasons behind the move are said be Heatley's unhappiness with coach Cory Clouston, who took charge of the team on an interim basis in February and was rewarded with a two-year deal in April.

I say "said" to be because Heatley has not spoken publicly on the issue. Clouston, 39, was promoted from Ottawa's farm team, Binghamton, and made the Senators more responsible and accountable on the ice. The latter did not sit well with Heatley, who found himself demoted to the second power play unit. Despite his goals, Clouston, who one reporter referred to as a "baby-faced drill sergeant", also expected Heatley to be defensively responsible.

The rest of the team bought in, and the Senators took an impressive 42 points in 34 games under the new coach. However, all Heatley saw was diminishing ice time and goals (he managed 39 but should be getting 50), as he failed to respond to Clouston's tough regime. So Heatley wanted out. The problem was that on July 1 he was due $4m of his wages for the 2009/10 season in a lump sum, making him almost untradeable before that date.

Last month, Edmonton offered three players in exchange for Heatley. The Senators' general manager, Bryan Murray, accepted the deal, but Heatley then refused to waive the no-trade clause in his contract, with his agent accusing Ottawa of not exploring all the options to move him. The Oilers spent the last month trying to woo the winger and get him to change his mind, but this weekend the team admitted defeat.

The media fury in Ottawa was understandable, but this did not stop the players' union boss, Paul Kelly, saying Heatley had been treated "unfairly" by the media and the club - although many have questioned why they should pursue a player of now questionable mental fortitude. Loyalty between players and clubs has to be a two-way thing, and the Senators have shown that to Heatley in abundance. When they traded for him from the Atlanta Thrashers in August 2005, they signed a troubled young man who six months earlier had pleaded guilty to four charges of vehicular homicide.

In September 2003, Heatley was driving his Ferrari with his Atlanta teammate, Dan Snyder, a passenger. He lost control of the car and hit a wall. Snyder suffered a fractured skull and died. Heatley, who was sentenced to three years' probation, was exonerated of any blame by Snyder's family and the Thrashers granted his wish to leave the city and make a fresh start. Ottawa welcomed Heatley and not once did local media ask him about the crash.

The question now is not who will trade for Heatley, but why? @Email:[e-mail]