He was a healthy scratch after four games with no points. And the attacks are all personal stuff, about his character", Molloy lamented, adding that "Nobody mentions that this is a guy who gives up a month of his summer every year to play for Team Canada." Hossa had just re-signed with the Senators after protracted and often contentious negotiations. In the 200203 season Heatley emerged as an NHL star, recording 41 goals and 89 points in 77 games and finishing ninth overall in league scoring. That made us feel pretty good.. [28] At the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, a potential trade to the Nashville Predators was negotiated by Murray but rejected by Spezza as the Predators were one of the teams listed in his limited contractual no-trade clause.[29]. Follow Ian on Twitter @ian_mendes, Spezza at the 2001 NHL Draft after being selected at No. [30] On December 29, 2014, he was placed on waivers. On October 30, 2018, in a 41 win over the Montreal Canadiens, Spezza played in his 1,000th career NHL game. So I was disappointed with how my one year as captain went, but thats hockey and you learn from it, Spezza said after the trade in 2014. I didnt just wake up one day and decide I wanted to ask for a trade. And while hes certainly connected to Torontos franchise these days, its undeniable that Spezzas most glorious years were spent in Ottawa. [44], Heatley holds dual Canadian-German citizenship because his mother is German. [2] Spezza attended St. Michael's College School. But when Jacques Martin was there, his approach was, You have to buy in before you get more ice time. And there was a little bit of head-butting there., When he was the final cut from the roster at the end of training camp in the fall of 2001, Martin infamously quipped,This is a mans league, and hes still a boy.. They werent even trying to score against us, so that gave us even more liberty. Im not stupid, I can tell how things are going, Spezza said after his second demotion in 2002. I want to be a player in this league not just a player, but a good player and I think I can and I think Ill be up here maybe sooner than they think.. Letang received a two-minute penalty for boarding and Spezza was expected to miss four-to-six weeks due to a consequent shoulder injury. It was a good example of the communication we had, without even knowing it., The dynamic duo of Heatley and Spezza was flanked on the right side by Alfredsson, who says this line was almost a perfect mix.. His first, in 2000, ended with a bronze medal win against the US in a shootout; Heatley scored a goal in the 43 victory. The Senators missed the postseason by a healthy margin and Spezza finished the campaign with a career-worst minus-26 rating. [30][31] On November 21, Spezza signed a four-year contract with Dallas (effective from the 201516 season through to the 201819 season) worth an annual average value of $7.5million. At the exit meetings with Murray, Spezza let it be known to management that he felt like he was taking an unfair amount of criticism from fans and media. At the 2005 World Championships in Austria, his fourth-straight World Championships, Heatley did not achieve the same success, with seven points in nine games, as Canada was shut-out by the Czech Republic in the gold medal game. Spezza appeared in six of the Senators seven pre-season games that fall, a sure sign that management wasnt quite sold on his NHL readiness just yet. Spezza says he can't remember exactly when the trio was put together, but they clicked quickly. The following season, he continued on the same pace with Heatley and Alfredsson before suffering another injury. To see some of the classic games on TV, we had a real chemistry that I don't think you can teach.". While other high draft picks like Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash were afforded the ability to make youthful mistakes with bottom-dwelling franchises, Spezza was expected to have a refined and polished 200-foot game to help a championship-calibre Ottawa team. After a lengthy court process, Heatley was awarded $6.5 million from a judge in Calgary, Alberta on July 21, 2017. On June 8, 2010, his Spezza is the main reason Heatley has had back-to-back 50-goal seasons and all the while he lets Spezz take all the criticism during the bad times. The following year, Heatley led Team Canada in scoring (seven goals and ten points) at the 2003 World Championships in Finland, en route to his first gold medal. [10] Despite scoring, Heatley and the Senators suffered an 83 defeat to his former Thrashers teammates. Spezza played for the Toronto Marlboros in 1997, recording 114 points in 54 games. The 19-year-old delivered, assisting on Martin Havlats game-winning goal in the third period and then adding an insurance marker of his own to keep the Senators hopes alive. [5] The Thrashers and the Atlanta community were largely supportive of Heatley, and Snyder's family told the judge and prosecutors that nothing would be gained by imprisoning him. Auld would be traded in the off-season to make room. He scored at more than a point-per-game pace as an underaged player with 71 points in 67 games. And then from that point on, we had unbelievable chemistry. "[4] An Atlanta Thrashers' employee cryptically told the Vancouver Sun "We know Dany very well. Senators fans had fun coming up with a name for their new No. I got an impression that he was quite unhappy at the end, Murray told the media in April of 2010. I think the coverage he felt he got and the fan reaction a couple of times left him kind of wanting a little bit. Check out the latest pictures, photos and images of Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. ", "Thrashers trade Heatley to Senators for Hossa", "Ottawa trims Toronto as NHL inaugurates the shootout", "Heatley scores four in a row; Senators embarrass Leafs", "Blackhawks send Senators to second straight loss", "Montreal tops Ottawa as win streak continues", "Senators' coach: Heatley's best yet to come", "Bulletin: Senators and Heatley Reach Agreement", "Heatley out 46 weeks with shoulder injury", "Bulletin: Heatley asks Senators for trade", "Trading Heatley an enormous job for Sens' GM Murray", "Is it time for Sens fans to forgive Dany Heatley? Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. [21], As Ottawa GM Murray began again to try to accommodate the trade demand, Heatley was still a member of the Senators as the team opened training camp on September 12, 2009. [45] Spezza retired with 995 career NHL points, the most of any player who never hit 1,000. [47] Heatley avoided having to go to trial as part of a plea deal that dropped the first-degree charge of vehicular homicide. They were originally known as the CASH Line, because it was an acronym for Captain Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley and because they were money in big situations. Captain Daniel Alfredsson quickly replaced Bochenski on the top line (Bochenski was soon thereafter traded) and the new trio become nicknamed the "CASH" line and "Pizza" line. At age five, Spezza was chosen for a Minute Maid commercial. If you are an NHL fan and have a pulse, by now you have caught wind that Dany Heatley was sent to the San Jose Sharks for Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek. The Pizza Line reached its pinnacle in the spring of 2007, with the three Ottawa linemates finishing at Nos. On July 9, 2014, Heatley signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks worth $1 million. Try a week on us. But the 2003-04 playoffs ended with Spezza being a healthy scratch in four of Ottawas games during a seven-game loss against Toronto. Heatley, who was also seriously injured but eventually made a full recovery, pled guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide and received probation. In the off-season, he was drafted second overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, behind goaltender Rick DiPietro. [33], On July 1, 2019, as a free agent, Spezza signed a one-year, $700,000 contract for the 201920 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs,[34] the team he supported as a child. [38] Several months later, Heatley competed in the 2004 World Cup and contributed two assists as Canada defeated Finland in the final to capture the second-ever World Cup championship. Melnyk later filed a lawsuit against Heatley as the team "shouldnt have paid a hefty roster bonus to a player who was seeking a trade", which was settled out of court in the fall of 2013 without the terms being publicized. [16] He completed the 200708 season with 41 goals and 41 assists for 82 points in 71 games. His teams went 0-6 in Game 7s over the course of his career, losing two win-or-go-home games with Ottawa (2003 and 2012), Dallas (2016 and 2019) and Toronto (2021 and 2022). The other version is better - if you like tabloid news. "The frustrating part for us is we have gone through several coaches here that we couldn't win enough games with," Murray stated. But Spezzas pursuit for an elusive championship is not over, as he migrates over to Torontos front office. The trio made up what was affectionately called "The Pizza Line" because the line's scoring exploits normally meant free pizza for fans in attendance thanks to a promotion with Pizza Pizza. He remained injury-free and finished fourth in league scoring, earning consideration for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Team captain Daniel Alfredsson admitted days earlier that a scenario in which Heatley showed up in Ottawa as an unhappy camper would create a massive media headache for the rest of the team. It's really a unique feeling to have two linemates that you knew where theyre going to be at all times. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. In the playoffs, Spezza saved an elite performance for a pivotal Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. [25][26], The 201314 season saw Heatley's production decline dramatically, as he recorded only nine goals and 19 points in his first 55 games. Scoring 117 points with Binghamton, he outscored Michael Cammalleri of the Manchester Monarchs by eight points to capture the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league's leading scorer. [31] On February 28, 2015, Heatley was traded to the Florida Panthers along with a 2016 third-round draft choice for Tom Fleischmann. At the conclusion of the 2002-03 regular season, Kovalchuk had already tallied 67 goals with two years in the NHL under his belt, while Spezza who saw time in the OHL and AHL and spot duty with the Senators had only managed seven goals in 33 NHL games. Playing minor hockey in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) for the Calgary Buffaloes, Heatley tallied 91 points in 36 games in 199798 to earn the Harry Allen Memorial Trophy as the league's top scorer. With only one year remaining on his contract, Spezza told Murray that a change of scenery would likely benefit both parties. I had some great years in Ottawa and I look back on them fondly, so whenever they do things like this, it's nice to be recognized.". We had a really good combination of a pure goal scorer, a pure playmaker and then I contributed a little bit of everything, says Alfredsson. 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