What would you do for 7.5 million a year?

By Phillip Blancher On July 4, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Apparently not what you are told. If I was Dany Heatley, I’d grab a big ol’ cup of STFU and do what my coach tells me.

There may be other reasons why Heatley wants out of Ottawa, but we haven’t heard what those reasons are. What we have heard is he’s unhappy about his playing time, being on the second power-play line and he doesn’t like how the coach tells him what to do.

Honestly, it’s not his place or job to worry about that. Heatley’s place is on the ice, shooting that black thing called the ‘puck’ between these two connected pipes called the ‘net’.

Let’s look at Heatley’s stats shall we:

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005–06	Ottawa Senators	NHL	82	50	53	103	86	10	3	9	12	11
2006–07	Ottawa Senators	NHL	82	50	55	105	74	20	7	15	22	12
2007–08	Ottawa Senators	NHL	71	41	41	82	76	4	0	1	1	6
2008–09	Ottawa Senators	NHL	82	39	33	72	88	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			507	260	283	543	456	34	11	25	35	31

2006-07 was his best season ever. 105 points, 50 goals, 55 assists and only in 74 Penalty Minutes. To top it off, he had 22 points, 7 goals, 15 assists in 20 playoff games ending in the Stanley Cup Final.

2008-09. Down 22% in goals compared to 06-07; Down 20% in assists, same period. Total production down 31% while increasing his Penalty Minutes by 19%. And there are no playoff stats because… The Sens didn’t make the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. While it is not all Heatley’s fault in not making the playoffs, he is part of the team that FAILED.

Now the money:

In 2006-07 he made 5.5 million, in 2008-09 he made 7.5 million; An increase of… 2 million or 27%.

What it means:

For 27% more salary, the Senators got 31% less of a player who took 19% more penalties.

In conclusion:

Heatley’s coach wants more out of him, don’t blame him. Scoring 50 goals in a season once is a stroke of luck and good timing. Scoring it twice in a row is a sign of talent, we know Heater has it. As for ego… Someone forgot to check it at the door.