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Report: Senators, Heatley resolve bonus money grievance

Dany Heatley

Former Ottawa Senators Dany Heatley speaks with the media on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, after being traded to the San Jose Sharks following the first day of the NHL hockey training camp in Kanata, Ontario, on Saturday Sept. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld)

AP

The Ottawa Senators and current Wild forward Dany Heatley have reached a resolution stemming from bonus money in the wake of his 2009 trade to San Jose, according to the Ottawa Sun.

The Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, citing league sources, reports the grievance has been settled with terms of the resolution being confidential.

Here’s a recap of the issue, from an August column in the Ottawa Citizen:

The Senators made the move after Heatley demanded to be traded out of Ottawa in 2009, but then used his no-trade clause to nix a deal that would have sent him to the Edmonton Oilers before $4 million bonus came due. The Senators later sent him to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek.

In an interview with the Citizen Friday, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said both camps are close to an agreement on the issue.

“We’re coming very close to resolution,” Melnyk said. “I think we’re at the stage now of resolving matters with him to our satisfaction and his satisfaction and, you know, we’re talking directly with his agent and seeing how we can … and we have tentatively come to an understanding of how to resolve it, so I think we’re going to be fine.”

When Melynk originally filed the grievance in ’09, several of Garrioch’s sources suggested the Sens owner wasn’t convinced the filing would be successful, but also wasn’t going to “fork over” an additional $4 million after paying Heatley $18 million in salary over the first two years of his six-year, $45 million contract.

Related: Heatley sues ex-agent, partners for $11 million