Even though Dany Heatley’s performance was crucial to their success, both Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson believe that trading the star winger was the best move for the Ottawa Senators.
“I think this is the best situation for our team to just move forward and not have to answer the questions,” Spezza said. “It would have been tough if we lose one or two games and we’d be answering questions right away about chemistry and locker room issues. This was the right move and it’s really going to help our club out.”
“I think it’s great that we got it done now. Dany is a very talented hockey player, but we knew his situation of him wanting out here,” Alfredsson added. “I still think we could have worked it out and we would have been okay. But obviously, this is something that would have happened eventually and getting it done earlier is the big plus for us.”
Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley combined to form one of the most potent offensive lines in recent memory. In their first full season together in 2005-06, Heatley and Alfredsson set a franchise record with 103 points each and Spezza set a new club standard with 71 assists. In 2007, the trio tied for the scoring lead in the post-season, leading the Senators to the Stanley Cup finals.
But the Senators were often criticized for being too reliant on their one offensive line. Alfredsson says the addition of Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek from San Jose and the free agent signing of Alexei Kovalev in the summer, give the Senators the luxury of depth up front.
“If you look at us last year, we tried to have one line scoring. Now we can put three lines together that can contribute offensively, so I think we’re a better team,” Alfredsson said.
Heatley recorded back-to-back 50-goal seasons with Spezza as his main playmaker and the dynamic duo also had a close relationship off the ice. According to Spezza, the friendship with Heatley did not become strained over the summer, even though they had completely different priorities.
“My relationship with Dany isn’t going to change at all. We’re still going to be friends,” Spezza said. “But it was a tough situation for both of us. He wanted out and I wanted what was best for our club. We had a good understanding this whole way that he was going to look out for getting traded and I was going to look out for our team.”
Spezza even showed off his trademark humor on Sunday afternoon, when he was asked by a reporter what lesson he learned from the way the Heatley saga played out over the past three months.
“Summer can be a distraction if someone asks for a trade request,” Spezza said with a hearty laugh.
