Inside The Penalty Box 10.08.07: Senators Keeping Heatley Around Long-Term

Posted by Neil Borenstein on 10.08.2007

The NHL is a tough place to do business with escalating player costs. But the contract extension seems to be the best option for teams looking to retain their players. Just hours before the drop of the puck on their regular season, the Ottawa Senators inked their leading offensive asset for another six years. In this edition of Inside The Penalty Box, Neil Borenstein discusses the contract extension given to Dany Heatley.

Heatley, Senators Together Long-TermHeatley Inks Six-Year Extension

Photo Credit: Yahoo! SportsDany Heatley signed an extension with Ottawa just hours before the start of the team's regular season.

he Ottawa Senators avoided a potential disaster next offseason by signing one of its stars to a long-term extension. Just hours before the Senators' first game of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 3, general manager Bryan Murray inked Heatley to a six-year, $45 million contract that will keep his 50-goal scorer in Ottawa until the 2013-2014 season.

Heatley's camp made it clear that if a new deal was not agreed upon prior to the start of the regular season, negotiations would need to wait until the end of the year, when everything becomes much more hectic for all 30 teams in the National Hockey League. The 26-year old winger was slated to enter the unrestricted free agent market on July 1.

The new deal, which starts next year after Heatley makes $5.5 million this season, will be front-loaded. In fact, money was not even the biggest issue in negotiations, which had previously hit a snag before another session of discussions was called on Oct. 3. The biggest issue was structure and how the money would be paid out.

The Senators will receive an annual cap hit of $7.5 million starting next season.

Heatley responded well to his new deal, scoring the game-tying and then game-winning goal in overtime against the Maple Leafs to give the Senators their first of three wins accumulated thus far this season. He has three goals and two assists in three games.

Acquired by the Senators in August 2005 from the Atlanta Thrashers, Heatley has performed tremendously since receiving a change of scenery. In September 2003, Heatley was the driver of a Ferrari that crashed into a wall with Dan Snyder in the passenger seat. Snyder, a friend and teammate of Heatley's with the Thrashers, died as a result of injuries sustained during that crash. Though Heatley did return for 31 games of the 2003-2004 season after recovering from his own injuries, being in Atlanta was just not the best scenario for a man who had the death of somebody he cared about on his conscience. The memories were just too close.

So in exchange for right wing Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries, the Senators acquired the 2002 Calder Memorial Trophy winner. The deal followed the re-opening of the NHL after its lockout and was a caliber trade not seen often in the NHL anymore – superstar for superstar.

In 2005-2006, Heatley immediately responded to his new atmosphere. He scored 50 goals and 103 points to rank in a fourth place tie in scoring with his teammate, Daniel Alfredsson. Heatley's previous career-high in goals came in 2002-2003 – his sophomore season – when he scored 41 goals.

Last season, Heatley improved on his point total by two, and finished with 50 goals and 105 points to hold sole possession of fourth place in the scoring rankings.

In the playoffs, Heatley was in a three-way tie for leading scorer on the Senators with 22 points. He tied with his linemates – Jason Spezza and Alfredsson.

A lot of Heatley's success in Ottawa has come as a result of those linemates. Playing on the top line with Spezza playing playmaker and Alfredsson contributing in an all-around role, there is so much talent for teams to attempt to defend against in any given game. Those three weapons provide a lot of challenges.

Now, that's not to say playing alongside Ilya Kovalchuk was a detriment to his talent while playing in Atlanta. But I think there's chemistry in Ottawa on that top line that Heatley and Kovalchuk would have never shared.

The Money

In the new NHL, it's almost like the old. There are big contracts that just don't seem to be reasonable with relation to who is signing them.

Recently, however, I think there have been many contracts inked that make a lot of sense. Most of those deals are coming via contract extensions.

Joe Thornton recently extended his tenure with the San Jose Sharks. Coming up against one more year on his current deal, the Sharks deemed it smart to sign him long-term before he could hit the open market. Thornton signed a deal for three years at $7.2 million per season. For a man who will consistently rank within the top three in scoring and probably rank first in assists, that's pretty much a bargain.

Jarome Iginla also signed a contract extension. The Calgary Flames dealt their star a five-year extension at $35 million. For $7 million a season, Iginla doesn't give the consistency in numbers that Thornton does. But he is the heart and soul of the Flames. He is their top offensive weapon. He is their leader. He is their physical presence. He is the Flames. And it's important that such a hard-working and respectable player in the NHL remain with a team he could seemingly lead to the top. At $7 million, he's more than worth it.

Now, Heatley gets inked for $7.5 million. Fifty-goal scorers are not easy to come by, especially ones that can compliment that number with enough assists to double his point total. Heatley has really stepped up as the offensive leader for the Senators, and his name will now become very prominent in Hart Trophy consideration so long as Ottawa continues to be a dominant team in the Eastern Conference.

Seven-million dollars is hardly a pittance. But compared to the league maximum individual players can make – 20 percent of the team cap, or $10.6 million for the 2007-2008 season – that's a very reasonable price for some of the best players in the league to make.

Sidney Crosby has really broken the mold in the new NHL with his five years at $8.7 million per season and set a somewhat new standard. But other stars have not necessarily followed suit. At least, not yet.

Heatley was a player I expected to make around $8.5-to-9 million per season. He accepted less, however, and that's very respectable.

Contract Extensions

It might just be the name of the game that is the contract extension. Re-signing a player as opposed to going after them in the open market allows for a hometown discount. I think most players have a loyalty and would rather stay where they are to build upon previous success.

Since only one team is vying for a player's services, there isn't a bidding war. General managers are not competing against each other for that star forward or star defenseman. They aren't trying to put a price on what a 40-goal scorer offers, and then tack on an extra million just to try and outdo GMs from other teams. It's a one-on-one negotiation between the players' current team GM and his agent.

And I think we're going to find more extensions dealt out in the future. Instead of allowing players to hit the open market, teams may aggressively pursue extensions before the end of the season that's the last on a players' contract. Players seem to come cheaper. And GMs can relax a bit, knowing they don't have a war on their hands.

More Senators To Sign

With one problem fixed, the Senators do still have two more.

Defenseman Wade Redden and Spezza are high on the priority list for Murray to work with. Redden is slated to hit the unrestricted market following this season, and Spezza will become a restricted free agent. Spezza's status, however, doesn't really make things any easier since the offer sheet has become a much more utilized tool in recent years. And it's a tool that's been used with a lot of cash involved.

Spezza has already stated that he wants to wait until the end of the season before he signs a new deal. He believes he is going to have a good year and wants to use that to his advantage in signing a new contract. I doubt he'll make as much money as Heatley, no matter what kind of year he has. But a big season with an assist total within the top three or four, and Spezza could be cashing in at $7 million a season.

Redden is a bigger question mark. That's because I'm not so sure the Senators are all that interested in keeping him around. They tried to trade him in the summer and have had tiffs with him since. I don't think there's a real good relationship between Redden and Murray. So this year could be Redden's last in Canada's capital.

Whether he gets traded at the deadline will depend on where the Senators' are in the standings. If the Senators are still contenders, which I see no reason why they wouldn't be, it would be extremely foolish for Murray to trade him. What sense does it make to trade away a big asset on the blue line who could be a critical to a Stanley Cup run? You never want to lose a player for nothing, but this game is played to win the Cup. If Redden can help Ottawa win the Cup and then bolt, I think the Senators would take that.

But, if the Senators are out of competition or feel they have a deep enough defensive core without Redden, a trade might be in the books. They will probably need to get a good defensive player in the return, on top of picks and prospects. But Redden could be a hot commodity among teams that are Cup contenders but need some solidification along their blue line, i.e., the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks.

Either way, when the puck drops on the 2008-2009 season, Redden should be wearing another team's sweater, and probably at a price that the Senators would be unable to afford even if they wanted to keep him in Ottawa.

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~ Neil Borenstein