Jilted Oilers fans ready to heckle Heatley
Sharks right-winger refused trade to Edmonton in off-season
Last Updated: Friday, November 27, 2009 | 10:23 AM MT
By Doug Harrison, CBC Sports
Sharks right-winger Dany Heatley, right, is second in the NHL this season in goals (18) and fifth in points (29).
(Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)Edmontonians will be hoping the Beat the Heat goal-tracker scoreboard gets a big workout Friday night at Original Joe's Restaurant on 109th Street.
It will mean the Oilers are filling the net against Public Enemy No. 1 — Dany Heatley and the visiting San Jose Sharks (7:30 p.m. MT).
Original Joe's is making a charitable donation each time forwards Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano, along with defenceman Ladislav Smid, score a goal this season.
They are the three players Edmonton general manager Steve Tambellini reportedly offered Ottawa Senators counterpart Bryan Murray in the summer for Heatley, who nixed a trade by exercising the no-movement clause in his contract.
"Edmonton is one of the most passionate hockey cities and you can understand why they're upset," Heatley, who was acquired by the Sharks for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a draft, told the San Jose Mercury News.
"But, like I've said, there's more to this story, from my point of view. Whether or not they (fans) accept it, it is what it is and it's in the past."
Oilers fans probably aren't as quick to forgive and forget. They, like many in the sporting world, don't like to be jilted.
Pronger wanted out
In the summer of 2006, Chris Pronger was granted his wish to be dealt out of Edmonton for personal family reasons after helping Edmonton come within a game of winning its first Stanley Cup in 16 years.
He would return that November as a member of the Anaheim Ducks and pick up an assist in a 3-2 win overtime win.
"The fans in Edmonton are tired of stars either not wanting to come here or bolting," Edmonton Journal hockey columnist Jim Matheson told the Mercury News.
"They feel [Heatley] was a spoiled brat, not wanting to play in Ottawa or Edmonton, yet wanting to play for Canada in the [2010] Olympics."
Heatley could take the ice in Vancouver in February and have teammates Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau as his linemates. They have racked up 39 goals in 26 games for the West-leading Sharks who saw their record slip to 16-6-4 following Wednesday's 7-2 loss to Chicago in a battle of the conference's top two teams.
Thornton, Heatley and Marleau are third, fifth and ninth, respectively, in league scoring. Heatley is second in goals (18) and fifth in points (29).
Penner tops the Oilers with 26 points in 25 games, while Cogliano has struggled, mustering just eight points in 25 contests. Smid has been a solid contributor on the blue-line, posting five assists and a plus-6 rating (tops among Edmonton defencemen) in 23 games.
Smid on Heatley: 'I'll run him over'
The six-foot-three, 226-pound Czech said he would play Heatley tough should they match up on the ice.
"If he's in the corner, I'll run him over, but I have no hard feelings towards him," said Smid.
The Oilers have made a point of not thinking about Heatley, a former two-time 50-goal scorer, this year.
"We made a good attempt to bring Heatley to this club," Edmonton head coach Pat Quinn told reporters. "You move on … there's lots of things that don't happen in life. I wish I had a million bucks, too."
He'll take a victory Friday night at Rexall Place, where the Oilers are 8-5-1 this season and 10-12-3 overall. They are 2-2-0 on their five-game homestand and will be minus top-line forward Ales Hemsky for at least the next two games.
He had an MRI on Thursday to have a suspected shoulder injury examined. Originally, Hemsky, who is second to Penner with 22 points in 22 games, was thought to be concussed.
Right-winger Colin McDonald and centre Ryan O'Marra have been recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League.
Jeff Deslauriers will get the start in goal for Edmonton.
