Having a superstar on the team is great. Superstars draw fans, media attention, money and — if all goes according to plan — wins.
But once the superstar wants to be anywhere but where he is, things get tricky. Suddenly, he's not so much fun to coach.
Such is the situation facing Senators coach Cory Clouston. Dany Heatley — a game-changing winger with two fifty-goal, 100-point seasons under his belt — has made it clear he doesn't want to be in Ottawa in 2009-10. Clouston told Canoe.ca that he can't understand why Heatley wants out and that it shouldn't have to do with the fact that he took over as head coach in February. As for rumblings that Heatley took offense to a "diminished" role after the coaching change, Clouston says those claims are ludicrous.
"As far as a diminished role, it was very slightly diminished and in my mind it wasn't diminished," he told the Web site. "[Placing Heatley on] the second power-play unit was not a punishment. It was to increase the scoring."
Clouston added more fuel to the fire when he said he wasn't sure whether he'd strip Heatley from his assistant captain's title, should he remain in Ottawa next season.
"I will wait and see on that," he said. "Until we see the whites of his eyes in the dressing room, we will address it then."
In 2008-09, Heatley, 28, registered 39 goals and 33 assists. Those were his lowest totals in a full season since his rookie year in 2001-02, when he tallied 26 goals and 41 assists for 67 points.
