Ottawa Senators Defenceman Tyler Kleven talks about being an everyday NHL defenceman When Dany Heatley left the Ottawa Senators in a trade to the San Jose Sharks in 2009, the fan base wasn't very happy with him. And when he returned, as a member of the Sharks, they let him know about it. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu1HH7XBT4w[/embed] Heatley was a two-time 50-goal scorer and had barely started his six-year contract with Ottawa worth $45 million. But after going to the Cup Final, it appears he wasn't thrilled with the medley of head coaches who succeeded Bryan Murray [https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=3862] over the next two seasons: John Paddock [https://chl.ca/whl-pats/john-paddock-vp-hockey-operations-general-manager/], Craig Hartsburg [https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=2179], and Cory Clouston [https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=43689]. With Clouston's arrival (and then missing the playoffs in 2008-09), Heatley asked the club for a trade. "When I signed in Ottawa two years ago, I felt it was to be an integral part of the team," Heatley said in an August 2009 conference call. "Over the last two years, and more recently over the past year, I feel my role was diminished. This past season, it diminished a lot more." Two months earlier, the Senators had tried to accommodate Heatley's trade request, working out a deal with Edmonton. But even though he was the one who wanted out, he nixed it with his no-trade clause. The Sens would have gotten forwards Dustin Penne [https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=77717]r, Andrew Cogliano [https://puckpedia.com/player/andrew-cogliano] and defenceman Ladislav Smid [https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=71282]. But Edmonton wasn't a preferred destination. In September, Heatley finally n green-lighted a trade to San Jose for forwards Milan Michálek [https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=57038], Jonathan Cheechoo [https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=31215] and a swap of draft picks. Michalek was a good asset for the Sens playing six and a half seasons here and averaging 22 goals a season. But Cheechoo, a former 56-goal scorer, scored 5 goals in 61 games for the Sens that season and never played in the NHL again. As for Heatley, he had one excellent year in San Jose and then two good NHL season after that, but his decline at age 30 had begun and it was swift, partially due to injuries. He was out of the NHL at age 33. So that's the back story. Now Heatley is preparing to return to Ottawa this Thursday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/ottawa-senators-announce-plans-for-a-pizza-line-reunion-next-month] (Dec. 5) for a ceremonial reunion of the Pizza Line with Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza [https://puckpedia.com/player/jason-spezza]. Time heals all, as they say, and this visit figures to be much friendlier than his first game back was in 2009. “I think it’s going to be a little emotional,” Heatley said in an interview with Ian Mendes at Senators.com. [https://www.nhl.com/senators/news/dany-heatley-opens-up-about-pizza-line-reunion] “Those are some of the best years of my life. I’m looking forward to getting back to the arena, seeing the boys and seeing the fans again. We scored a lot of goals in that rink.” From the night of his first game back in Ottawa 15 years ago, Heatley has always maintained that his trade request was never a reflection of the city or the fan base. “The way it went down, a lot of things were out of my control," Heatley said. "That’s the biggest thing I want to convey to people. It wasn’t anything against people in Ottawa or the fans. Those were four of the best years of my life and arguably the best four years of my hockey career. So I’m just excited to be back and in that atmosphere.” Heatley says he'll have more to say when he meets the local media this Thursday. You can read the full article at the club's website, Senators.com [https://www.nhl.com/senators/news/dany-heatley-opens-up-about-pizza-line-reunion].
