The Ottawa Senators are preparing to welcome back disgruntled sniper Dany Heatley.

Unless the two-time 50 goal scorer is dealt before training camp begins on Saturday, Heatley is expected to report to the team and discuss the trade request he made three months ago, something even his own teammates would like answers for.

"There's no question his reputation is taking a hit," team captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "I don't know the whole reasons, if it's not being happy with his role or if there's something else. There could be something else that will shed a different light on the story."

Senators forward Jason Spezza said although Heatley has taken a public beating for making the trade request, it doesn’t reflect his character in the dressing room.

"Just because of how everything has gone down, maybe it's given him a bit of a black mark but he's not a bad teammate,” Spezza said.

Heatley has said that his diminished role last season under new coach Cory Clouston was the main reason he wanted out. Clouston assured he holds no grudge and is looking forward to speaking with Heatley.

"It can work, absolutely. It's not going to be easy. With a lot of adversity, no matter what aspect of life, you can turn adversity into a positive. That's how we're looking at this. Maybe this can bring our core group of guys together," Clouston said.

If he Heatley is expecting his coach to shelter him from the media during exhibition games, however, he better think again.

"We're not going to change how we're approaching camp to cater to protecting him from the media. He's going to have to play at home and on the road. We're going to do our business normally," Clouston added.

The Senators politely asked Heatley not to attend the team’s annual charity golf tournament in Kanata Friday, "in order to direct attention on the efforts of the Sens Foundation".