Headley Talks

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San Jose agrees with Dany Heatley. Perhaps his torrid start to the 2009-2010 season can be attributed to the beautiful weather. More likely, it’s as simple as Joe Thornton getting him the puck in the perfect spot at the right moment. No matter how you slice it, the end result is the same. The veteran left winger is once again proving he is one of the most offensively gifted forwards in the NHL. No doubt, both his pedigree and his current production will make him a lock for the Canadian Olympic team at the February Winter Games in Vancouver.

If I was Steve Yzerman, I would select him. The pressure to win gold at home in this hockey saturated nation is immense. Heatley is easily one of the best Canadian forwards in the world and his inclusion on the team would have to improve Canada’s chances of winning. Still, I can’t forget my brother’s commentary as we watched Heatley play against the Leafs last year. ‘How is this guy beating us’, he said with disgust. ‘Shouldn’t he be in prison right now? Didn’t he kill somebody?’

For Heatley, the 2003 car accident that ended the life of friend and team mate Dan Snyder will always be the huge elephant in the room. Heatley was convicted of second degree vehicular homicide, but a three year probationary sentence meant he didn’t spend a day in jail. True, the Snyder family supported Heatley, but that doesn’t change the fact that his sentencing screamed preferential treatment. By January of 2004, Heatley was ready to play hockey again. He resumed his career after a brief absence caused only by the time needed to heal from his injuries.

At this point, no doubt, some of you think that this blog has gone in an awkward and mean spirited direction. Let sleeping dogs lie, you’re most likely saying. Heatley has to live with the decision that he made every day. You’re not him. You don’t know what he’s gone through and how Snyder’s death has affected him. Besides, torturing Heatley is not going to bring Dan Snyder back.

My response to these thoughts is you’re right. I’ve never met Dany Heatley and therefore, I can’t possibly know how Snyder’s death has affected or changed him. I do however know that most people who have walked in Heatley’s shoes have paid more than just an emotional debt to themselves for their crimes. The fact that Heatley was found responsible for the death of a team mate and then continued a multi-million dollar playing career without missing a beat seems completely absurd. Even crazier is the idea that right now, some people are considering me insensitive for pointing this out.

In the aftermath of the accident, I believe that Atlanta prosecutors and the media spared Heatley in part because the Snyders whole heartedly forgave him. At the time, I followed their lead and joined the hockey community in accepting him back into the game.

Over time, my opinion has changed due to anecdotal stories I have heard involving Heatley. My full catharsis finally occurred last summer when Dany wanted out of Ottawa.

In my outsider’s view, Heatley’s request for a trade revealed him to be a truly selfish individual with no sense of gratitude or perspective. Here is a guy who is lucky to be playing hockey at all, let alone making millions of dollars doing it. And yet somehow, he felt entitled to demand a ticket out of Ottawa due to ice time issues and personal differences with the coach. Heatley wasn’t concerned about what was best for the team but rather only what was best for him.

It’s great to see that the homicide conviction has really taught him which things are important in life. Heatley should be forever grateful for any opportunity. Instead, when the breaks don’t go his way, he uses his little Shirley Temple face to pout until he gets what he wants.

And still, the media has yet to fully turn on him. If Michael Vick was a star hockey player, I would venture to say that his rap sheet would prevent him from being included on the Olympic team. Look at Sean Avery and Ray Emery. Their personalities have jeopardized their careers. Both players always seem one step away from professional extinction. Barry Bonds’ couldn’t find a job when he wanted his playing days to last one more year. The steroid scandal and his surly attitude virtually blacklisted him from major league baseball. But Dany Heatley was found responsible for the death of another human being, and all people can worry about is finding him the right line mates for Vancouver in February.

Don’t get me wrong, if I was building my Team Canada, I would take him. Like many others, my priorities are out of sync. Sports entertainment comes before morality and human decency. But really the only line Heatley truly belongs on is skid row.

By: Alex Headley

(the very Headley of, Headley Talks, an online blog considered by many to be the most important meal of the day.)

Tags: Dany Heatley, Hockey, Sports

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 7:41 pm and is filed under Hockey, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.