Dany Heatley was sure of one thing after the lockout that canceled the 2004-2005 NHL season: He did not want to return to Atlanta.
Everywhere there were reminders of the Sept. 29, 2003, automobile accident in which Heatley lost control of his speeding Ferrari and crashed into a brick pillar, seriously injuring himself and killing his good friend and Thrashers teammate Dan Snyder.
Last August, Atlanta General Manager Don Waddell reluctantly granted Heatley's wish and traded him to the Ottawa Senators.
PHOTO: AP
"I don't feel like I'm starting over," Heatley, 24, said during a recent interview in Ottawa at the Corel Center, the Senators' home arena. "I just feel that I've changed. That's basically it. I'm just a little changed. And I feel good playing hockey again. I think it's a new start for everybody, and I'm not different that way. We had a year off. This is a new league. And I'm starting off like everyone else."
Heatley, who missed much of the 2003-2004 season because of his injuries, is the left wing on Ottawa's potent top line with Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. All three are in the league's top 10 in points, and the Senators (24-6-3) have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Entering a home game Monday night against the Rangers, Heatley is tied for fourth in the league with 49 points on 22 goals and 27 assists. He leads the league with a plus-minus rating of plus-27.
Even with his new surroundings, Heatley acknowledged that a part of Snyder would always remain with him.
"Anyone who's ever gone through anything like that, or lost a friend or family member, sure; they know that it's never going to leave you," he said. "But at the same time, it gets better. And as time goes on, things get better."
Still, Graham Snyder, Dan's father, said he was disappointed by Heatley's decision to seek a trade.
"But it's a situation where that's probably what he needed: to cut those ties and to not have reminders every day," he said from his home in Elmira, Ontario. "And I certainly understand that. Dany's always been cooperative with us and remorseful, all those things. We're certainly glad to see he's back in the game he loves to play. And that's what we wanted all along."
Snyder said that he and Heatley spoke every few weeks and that he wished Heatley were still playing for the Thrashers organization, which stood by Heatley and the Snyders throughout their ordeal. Heatley pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges stemming from the accident and was placed on three years' probation last February.
"In an ideal world, I still would like to see Dany Heatley hoisting the Stanley Cup as an Atlanta Thrasher," Snyder said. "But I can understand his reasons. I can certainly accept that. And I'm happy he's doing well."
Of Heatley's resurgence this season, LuAnn Snyder, Dan's mother, said: "We think it's great. It's absolutely wonderful that he came back and has played so well."
But she also said she was coping with missing her son as the holidays approached.
"It's a hard time of year for us," she said. "It's the one time of the year when Dan would make it home."
Heatley, who last week was named to the Canadian Olympic team for the Turin Games in February, is less willing to discuss the Snyders and the accident.
"I've basically said everything there is to say," he said. "That's the reason I don't feel I need to talk about it anymore."
Heatley was born in Germany, where his father, Murray, played professionally, but he grew up in Calgary and welcomed a trade to a Canadian team. In Ottawa, the hockey-mad capital of Canada, Heatley can submerge himself in the game.
"The city welcomed him from the first day he was in here," Ottawa General Manager John Muckler said. "He was a Canadian boy. The enthusiasm in our community was tremendous when we had our press conference. And from that day, that kind of told me that we'd made the right choice."
Heatley proved to be a perfect fit for Muckler. The Senators could not afford to re-sign right wing Marian Hossa, and Heatley's agent, J.P. Barry, suggested to Waddell that a Heatley-for-Hossa trade might work.
After Hossa agreed to a three-year, US$18 million deal with Ottawa, he was traded with defenseman Greg de Vries for Heatley, who then agreed to a three-year, US$13.5 million contract with the Senators.
Hossa had scored 29 or more goals in each of the previous five NHL seasons. But in those five seasons, the Senators were eliminated from the playoffs by their most hated rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, four times.
"Getting Heatley was a blessing in disguise, really," Muckler said. "Our team was a little bit stagnant. Our team needed some new personnel. It maybe needed a shock. The trade gave us another dimension."
Hossa is tied for 11th in the league with 42 points on 17 goals and 25 assists for Atlanta this season. Heatley started the season by scoring at least one point in 22 consecutive games, an Ottawa franchise record. Waddell was asked if it was hard for him to watch Heatley excel while his Thrashers (15-16-5) struggled.
"My wife and daughter and I talk about it all the time," Waddell said. "My 17-year-old daughter, Chelsea, follows his career. He was one of her favorites. And when he had the streak going, the next morning my daughter would ask, `Did he keep the streak alive?"'
Waddell added: "I know him as a hockey player, but I know him more even as a person. And he's a good person. He's had some tough situations, some tough luck, as far as what he had to go through. But he is a good person. We wish him nothing but the best."
Whether Thrashers fans will be as gracious remains to be seen. Heatley is scheduled to return to Atlanta on Jan. 2 for the first time since the trade.
"I don't think it's going to be strange," Heatley said. "I'm just happy to go back. I'll see some friends, and we'll play a hockey game. That's basically it. I'm going to treat it as any other game. I have to."
Heatley was then asked if he would be hurt if he were booed.
"No," he said. "They're the fans. They pay for their ticket. They can do what they want."
Senators center Bryan Smolinski characterized Heatley as unemotional.
"Nothing bothers him, and that's pretty amazing, considering what he went through," Smolinski said. "And we noticed that from Day 1."
Heatley was not the only one who had to go through the ordeal in Atlanta.
"There's not too many days that can ever go by without me personally thinking about the situation and Dan Snyder and his family," Waddell said. "Regardless of where Dany Heatley's playing, that's going to live with us the rest of our lives."
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