Steve Yzerman announced Canada's mens hockey team roster at noon today.  

Too the disappointment (and horror) of people across Ottawa, beloved heart and soul Senator Mike Fisher didn't make the cut, while heartless goal-scorer Dany Heatley did.  

Heatley, who last summer made it clear he believes he is too good to represent the nation's capital as an Ottawa Senator, is apparently still willing to represent the nation itself at the Olypics.

I intend to cheer on team Canada with all of my heart, but Dany Heatley doesn't represent any part of the Canada I believe in.  Selfishness, arrogance, and a willingness to disparage the very communities that support us are traits that have nothing to do with my vision of this great nation.

The Olypics aren't just about going for gold.  They are about showing the world who we are as a country and a people.  Is Dany Heatley really the face we want to put on Canada for the rest of the world?  I don't think so.

The nightmare that ate up most of the summer for hockey fans in Ottawa, the Dany Heatley debacle, has finally come to an end.  The team, the fans, and the media can now, finally, concentrate on what really matters: returning the team to the heights of greatness from which it so quickly fell. 

 From the Sentators website:   

Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray announced today the club has acquired forwards Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek, and a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Dany Heatley and Ottawa's fifth-round draft choice in 2010.

Cheechoo, 29, was San Jose's second-round pick (29th overall) in 1998 NHL Entry Draft. In 440 career National Hockey League games, the right-winger has scored 165 goals, added 126 assists and 304 penalty minutes. He also recorded 35 points (16 goals and 19 assists) and 32 penalty minutes in 58 career playoff games.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Cheechoo won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer when he tallied 56 goals for the Sharks in 2005-06. Cheechoo was voted in as a starter for the 2007 NHL all-star game.

Michalek, 24, was San Jose's first-round pick (sixth overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. In 317 career NHL games, the left-winger has scored 91 goals, added 123 assists and 184 penalty minutes. He has also recorded 16 points (10 goals and six assists) and 18 penalty minutes in 39 career playoff games.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Michalek recorded his third consecutive 20-goal season in 2008-09 when he scored 23 goals and added 34 assists in 77 games.

Heatley, 28, was acquired by the Senators from Atlanta on Aug. 23, 2005, in exchange for forward Marian Hossa and defenceman Greg de Vries. In four full seasons with Ottawa, Heatley ranks fourth all-time with the club in goals (180), seventh in assists (182) and seventh in points (362). He missed only nine regular-season games due to injury (all in the 2007-08 season).

The long awaited Dany Heatley press conference finally took place on Friday. I was going to link to the transcript, but then I thought, why bother? Heatley said basically nothing of interest. Here's the short version of his shockingly banal answers:

• He wants out of Ottawa because he feels his role on the team has diminished.
• He turned down the Edmonton trade because he wanted to be presented with more than one option as to where he was going to go.
• He isn't concerned that his reputation has taken a hit because everyone he has played with knows he a "team guy".
• He didn't mean to personally insult the people of Edmonton or Ottawa, but he apparently doesn't feel he owes anyone an apology either.
• If he hasn't been traded by the time training camp starts, he will honour his contract and play for the Sens.

I don't even know what to say at this point. Like everyone else out there (included the parties involved) I just wish this whole saga would come to an end.