Monthly Archive for February, 2005Page 3 of 3
This morning, Atlanta Thrashers forward Dany Heatley, 24, was sentenced to three years probation and community outreach (150 public speeches in three years on the dangers of speeding) for his September 29, 2003 crash that killed 25-year-old teammate Dan Snyder.
Heatley pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane, and speeding in exchange for the first-degree vehicular homicide charge, a felony, to be dropped.
With the current lockout and Todd Bertuzzi incident, many of us in the hockey world have forgotten about this incident, and that Heatley was still awaiting his sentence until today. We were also given some impression that charges would be dropped, after the Snyder family publicly forgave Heatley and offered him support. Heatley and Snyder were good friends, and the Snyder family testified that they didn’t want Dany to go to jail or lose his career. They realized that “Dany has a burden that he will carry for the rest of his life,” and that was enough punishment for the young star.
The plea deal avoided the possibility of Heatley, a Canadian citizen, being deported due to a felony charge, which would’ve halted his ability to cross the border during the NHL season. A stipulation of the plea is that Heatley will have to go to court and gain approval for what type of car he drives while on probation. Terms include that it cannot have more than six cylinders and will be customized to not exceed 70 miles per hour. Heatley was driving his black Ferrari convertible on a curvy road, returning from a team event, on the night of the crash. Alcohol was not a factor in the accident.
Heatley flew in from Switzerland, where he is playing during the lockout, to make his court date.
According to the Toronto Sun, Red Wing Brendan Shanahan practiced with the National Lacrosse League’s Toronto Rock on Wednesday, and is considering joining the team if this weekend’s last ditch effort to save the NHL season falls short.
Some trivia is that Shanny was actually a good lacrosse player as a teenager, and played for a Mississauga midget lacrosse team. He is also part owner of the NLL’s Rock, along with NHLers Bill Watters (former Maple Leafs GM), Don Cherry, Joe Nieuwendyk, Tie Domi, Bobby Orr, and Darryl Sittler. Interest in the sport runs in the family, as Brian Shanahan, Brendan’s brother and lacrosse analyst for Rogers Sportsnet and The Score, helped set up his involvement in the practice:
“I think he wants to see if he could still play. He did all the drills, and I think if the NHL season is cancelled, he’d seriously think about it.”
Rock general manager and coach Terry Sanderson on the possibility of signing Shanahan:
“If (the NHL season gets cancelled), you’d have to entertain that. He’s a pretty good athlete. I’m not saying it’s far fetched, but it’s not something on our radar screen right now.”
Rock forward Blaine Manning on how Shanny looked in practice:
“He was a pretty good lacrosse player when he was young and he was still pretty sharp catching the ball on the run. He’s a good, big athlete and right off the bat, that puts him in a good situation. It probably wouldn’t take long for him to adjust to playing defense.”
Shanahan has not played competitive lacrosse since he was 16, so this is definitely a long shot:
“One of the Rock players asked when I’d last played and when I told him, he said, ‘I was a year old then.’ That hurt. But I could be in game shape before the end of the season. Hey, (teammate Chris) Chelios is trying to be an Olympic bobsledder.”
Good point, Brendan.
You can recall that Maple Leaf Gary Roberts was selected by the Calgary Roughnecks in the final round of the NLL entry draft in late October. He has yet to join the team, but also played lacrosse as a teen.
Other than hosting his hockey summit in December, Brendan has been skating at the London Knights’ practice rink and working out at the team’s gym facilities. A former Knight (1985-1987), Shanny describes his involvement with the Knights as a sort of “mini-training camp” if he decides to play in Europe. Another surprising revelation for Wings fans is Shanahan’s premature talk of retirement (he’s 36):
“If the lockout went two years — and it could — I might have played my last game in the NHL.”
Scary.
Having last played in Dusseldorf, Germany during the 1994 lockout, Shanahan mentions Switzerland as one of his first choices of where to play this time around. He shows little interest in the minor leagues, but defended his teammates’ decision to join the UHL after UHL veteran Kevin Kerr blasted them for it:
“At least he said in one interview I heard that he didn’t have all the facts. Well, he doesn’t. I spoke with Draper and Chelios and they agreed to play only if nobody was knocked from the roster. What the guy should have welcomed was the sold-out crowds and media attention (the Red Wingers’ presence) will be bringing to the league.”
Also worth mentioning is that, if Shanahan did go over to Europe to play, he wouldn’t be displacing a North American player, as he can acquire an Irish passport since his parents were born there. Click here for more Shanahan tidbits.
According to ESPN reports, Chris Chelios and Derian Hatcher will sign with the Motor City Mechanics of the United Hockey League. In addition, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby are considering joining their teammates to play for the local club. Mechanics’ director of public relations, Lauren Segall, says that Chelios and Hatcher will sign Tuesday for “more than one game (so no one thinks it’s a gimmick, I guess).”
You can recall that Chelios was throwing around the idea of joining the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League, as he has family in Chicago. Cheli agreed to a deal with the Red Wings, but technically remains unsigned, since he has been having trouble finding insurance at his 43 years of age. You can also recall Cheli’s folly of training with the Team USA bobsled team in hopes that he could qualify for the Greek team in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.
Draper, who considered playing in Switzerland, decided against it and has been enjoying time with his family. In his time in metro Detroit, Draper joined Darren McCarty and former Red Wing Chris Osgood for a paintball tourney. Drapes on the possibility of playing for the Mechanics:
“I’m throwing around the idea. If everything works out, I might play. The opportunity to play some games, get some competition, Just to change things up because skating is getting monotonous.”
And you can’t have Draper without Maltby. They come as a package. Maltby on the Mechanics:
“I might consider it because it’s local. I had considered playing with my brother in England but have decided I’m not leaving the country (so) maybe this wouldn’t be a bad option.”
The Mechanics are last in the UHL Central Conference, at an abysmal 11-29-6 record, so they could definitely make use of the prospective Red Wings. The UHL is a low tier league: it goes NHL, AHL, ECHL, then UHL (after which is CHL). Click here for the Mechanics’ team website.
And for those who care, the Mechanics will be hosting a press conference tomorrow to enjoy their publicity and announce the signings of Hatcher and Chelios (and possibly Draper and/or Maltby). It starts at 10 am at “The Garage” (Great Lakes Sports City Arena, 34400 Utica Rd, Fraser, MI 48026). It will also be aired live over the internet.
Update
At the press conference this morning, the Mechanics announced the signings of Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher, and Kris Draper. As for Kirk Maltby, he has denied reports of joining the club.
Update 2 (Matt)
Steve Ovadia over at Puck Update makes a good point about the possible effect of signings like this:
“So why are they doing it?Presumably it’s a way to get some hockey in.
But it’s also a great way to undermine the NHL owners. The lucky people of Detroit are going to see NHL players playing hockey and not one dime will go into an NHL owner’s pocket. Now imagine if key players in all 30 NHL markets started doing the same thing (the News-Sentinel of Fort Wayne reports some St. Louis Blues are rumored to be signing with the Missouri River Otters). Imagine if someone like Jaromir Jagr came back just to play for a non-NHL-owned franchise. Hockey fans would get hockey and stars, but the owners would get nothing. Plus, if the owners tried to establish a scab league, they’d have a heck of a time competing with genuine NHLers. Sure, the whole experiment would destroy the development of countless hockey players, but if you want to make an omelette, you’ve got to break some eggs.
NHLers are bored and looking to play in the U.S. But they also see an opportunity to force the league to negotiate with them.”
With so much talent already overseas, this scenario isn’t as likely as it might have been but if the lockout goes on long enough and guys start to come back to North America, it’s a possibility.
