Eugene Melnyk had a meeting with Dany Heatley at the end of the regular season and according to the owner, the star winger gave no indication that he wanted to be traded.

The two have not spoken since, but on Monday morning the Senators owner shared his thoughts on the Heatley situation for the first time.

"The only thing I can say is that it's disappointing," Melnyk said after participating in a Hockey Canada event at CFB Petawawa. "We committed to a long-term contract, moved players and did everything we could. The best way to describe it at this point is just disappointment."

Disappointment may very well turn to anger for Melnyk, if he has to pay $4 million which is due to be paid to Heatley on Wednesday. When asked specifically about being on the hook for that cheque, Melnyk said he is leaving the hockey matters to his general manager.

"I'm going to leave that up to Bryan to deal with. We're obviously going to be on the phone this afternoon to get an update. We'll see what happens over the next 48 hours," he said.

Heatley signed a six year, $45 million contract in October 2007, fresh off his second consecutive 50-goal season and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. But since then, things have gone downhill for both Heatley and the club. The sniper has scored 38 goals last season, while the Senators missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

But even during a tumultuous spring in the nation's capital, Melnyk bristled at the idea of blowing up the core of his hockey team, saying he believed in the likes of Heatley, Jason Spezza, Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson. Now dealing with the prospect of a forced face lift, he admitted that replacing Heatley might be a tough task for Murray.

"That's a tough question. Dany is an elite player. You've got a 50-goal scorer that you're not going to have potentially. That has to somehow be replaced," he continued. "But it's a resilient team, it's a great team. And I can't say anything but good words about Cory Clouston. We'll just continue on."