From the desk of: KINCADE..

On my Sunday ESPN Radio Show, I do a segment called "The Unpopular Commentary of the Week". The NHL is not a real ratings grabber for a nationally syndicated radio show, so we don't get to talk much hockey. I think this unpopular commentary is much more suited for ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Atlanta anyway. 

ANYONE BUT OTTAWA!

I am not ashamed or uncomfortable stating publicly that I will be rooting against the Ottawa Senators to win the Stanley Cup. Though I see many similarities between the way that franchise and the Thrashers have been built, I just can't root for them.

Flat out, I don't want to see Dany Heatley get his name on the Stanley Cup. I don't find him easy to root for anymore and really can't stomach the idea of hearing the stories about all that Dany has overcome to get to this point. No one likes a story of overcoming adversity more than me, but when the adversity is self inflicted it holds a lot less punch in the story telling.

The facts are that Dany Heatley was the direct cause of the death of his teammate and friend Dan Snyder. There were no contributing factors like alcohol, weather or other drivers. We just have the reckless and thoughtless actions of a guy who would do over 80 in a 35 mph zone in a residential area with multiple blind spots. Not only did this criminal action take place in an area where a pedestrian could have been killed, it is amazing that no other car got taken out in this awful scene. One man is dead after valiantly fighting for his life and another is left to pick up the pieces.

What happened to the guy who survived? He got universal support from his community. He was embraced by an organization that could have clearly worried about the PR fallout and not chosen to support him so publicly. He received an outpouring of love from the fans of the team and never was held up to the public ridicule he would have faced in a town with a rabid, tabloid oriented press. Instead, his actions were painted as an accident in the written and electronic press. Accident??? Doing over 80 in a residential area is not an accident! That is a clear choice to put your life and the life of others in jeopardy! To use the word accident in this case is just flat out ridiculous!

The fan support was not enough though! The DA chose to cut a sweetheart deal in this highly publicized case as everyone wanted to help him move on from what happened. Even though this was not an option for the victim of his reckless behavior.

The ink was barely dry on the deal with the DA's office before he asked to depart Atlanta. It was all about "wanting to put the grief of the accident behind him". So the organization that supported him and the community that backed him was left to watch him walk away. He was even given the opportunity to do his community service OUT OF THE UNITED STATES! Instead of coming back to the scene of the crime to serve the community where the crime occurred! That is not a usual option that is given to others in this same situation. 

The day he arrived in Ottawa we found out a little more of his motivation when he declared that "it will be great to play in a place that cares about hockey"! Wow, I thought it was about getting away from Atlanta and all the bad memories? I guess the decision had a lot to do with where he wanted to play hockey too. That was a fact he conveniently left out when he held a gun to the head of the organization and demanded a trade. 

I always admired Dany and his talents on the ice. Off the ice I found him to always be a very good guy to deal with. That is what floored me by the way this entire series of events was handled.

Somewhere along the way, Dany began to be painted as a victim. He became the sympathetic figure and the death of Dan Snyder became a side story to what Dany was dealing with. That is a strange turn of events and one that I have never been able to figure out! 

Good for Dany Heatley! He overcame so much and finally got to play in a place where they care about hockey!

You can root for him if you wish, but I will be choosing to sit this one out. I'll choose to remember what really happened.

As always I welcome your comments at johnkincade@680thefan.com and check out www.680thefan.com for more articles like this.