Here is the state of the Dany Heatley situation, Coles Notes version.
With files from Ian Mendes
EDMONTON -- You can take the Edmonton Oilers out of the Dany Heatley soap opera for now. It's boiled down to a standoff between Senators GM Bryan Murray and agent J.P. Barry.
And of all people, Ron Hextall, the assistant general manager with the Los Angles Kings, tipped the scales in favour of the Senators in a video that came to light Thursday, from the Kings website.
First, the state of the Heatley affair, Coles Notes version:
Murray says he can't get a better deal than he got from the Edmonton Oilers: Dustin Penner, Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid.
"There were not a lot of teams that were interested in making a offer. The few that did, were in most cases not very good," Murray said Thursday. "I took a deal that, hockey-wise, probably doesn't match Dany Heatley (in value)."
Barry has been convinced all along that Murray didn't shop Heatley hard enough. He wants more "options" and figures that, out of spite, Murray found his deal in the NHL gulag of Edmonton, and sat on it.
The optics look awful to Barry and Heatley. They demanded a trade, Murray gave them one option -- the worst one, many players would say -- and he's saying take Edmonton or leave Edmonton.
Now that Ottawa was forced to pay the $4-million salary advance on the 2009-10 season, Murray has retrenched, saying that even the Oilers offer is no longer good enough.
"It's different now," Murray told reporters in Ottawa. "And I don't know if we will continue (with Edmonton) or not. Very definitely, it's not the same deal as it was yesterday."
Barry wants more options. Murray wants more value. Yet most of the league has taken care of their needs -- and cap space -- over the past two days of free agent binging.
That, figures the Heatley camp, is where a team like the Kings should come in. They've been relatively silent these past couple of days, have 21 players signed and $13.6 million of cap space left.
So what do the Kings think of Heatley?
"If you look at this player's past ... I'm going to spell it out to you as nicely I can," began Hextall, apparently answering a fan's question about Heatley at a Kings State of the Franchise event. "He was in Atlanta, had an unfortunate (automobile) accident there and asked to be traded. OK, given the circumstances -- there was a young man killed -- I can live with that.
"He goes to Ottawa, he's on a pretty good team, they go to the finals, signs a big contract… Bang, all of the sudden now he's got to be traded again. 'Not only do I have to be traded, I have a no-trade clause. I want to pick where I'm going to go.' Well, there are some issues there."
But Hextall, an old-time player at heart, wasn't done ripping Dany a new one. His team had talked about making a run at Heatley, and it's pretty clear which side of the discussion Hextall held up.
"He had problems with his coach in Atlanta," Hextall continued. "My understanding is he had problems with Craig Hartsburg at the start of last year in Ottawa, and he had problems with … Cory Clouston. Three coaches, he's had a problem with.
"That raises huge red flags for us."
Before he was done, Hextall admitted that the Kings' "No. 1 need is clearly a high scoring left winger."
But they wouldn't touch Heatley with a 10-foot pole.
Edmonton isn't L.A., however. The NHL's Siberia can't be choosy when a 50-goal scorer gets within range.
No, the Oilers aren't backing off Heatley, no matter what you, me, or Ron Hextall thinks about the guy.
But it does shed some light on the standoff between Barry and Murray, does it not?
How good does the market sound for Heatley now?
Then, there is a sub-plot that was raised earlier in the day on Sportsnet.ca, when NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said that the Senators may have grounds to file a grievance. The contract that stipulated they front Heatley $4 million on next season's salary may be compromised by Heatley's trade demand.
There are "strong grounds upon which a claim can be pursued. The Ottawa franchise believes it has been damaged," Daly told Sportsnet.ca in an email.
So, perhaps there is some wiggle room in Murray's claim that price rises since Senators owner Eugene Melnyk cut the $4-million cheque.
We're thinking it is conceivable that the NHL Players' Association would not stand in the way of Edmonton -- or any other team that traded for Heatley -- reimbursing the Senators for their $4 million, should the Senators grieve the situation. Especially considering that any team that trades for the left-winger would be on the hook for his entire $7.5 million cap hit anyway.
Canada's two smallest markets, Canada's top goal scorer.
And at the moment, Dany Heatley is a pariah in both cities.