“We're still going to be friends, but it was a tough situation for both of us," said Jason Spezza of Dany Heatley’s departure. "He wanted out and I wanted what's best for our club.

What’s the name of the tune they’re playing in Ottawa? How about “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger?

Dany Heatley has had no shortage of drama, both tragic and mundane, in his short NHL career. He’s also scored a lot of goals (260 in 507 games). But the time was right for him to ship out of Ottawa, especially when it was he, not the Senators, who had decided that the time was right to turn the page. Unfortunately for the Senators, GM Bryan Murray’s leverage was severely diminished by Heatley’s making his intentions public, but in the end, Murray reeled in Jon Cheechoo and Milan Michalek in return. Finally, something went right for Ottawa this off-season.

Cheechoo looks to rebound from a career-low twelve goals, and it should help that he’ll likely work with Alex Kovalev, who signed a two-year, $10M deal. Michalek had 23 goals and is a gem of a find for the Sens. He has three consecutive 20+goal seasons, and has missed only 13 games in the past four seasons.

The Senators had a major depth problem after their first line, and now, with Heatley gone, a top-six looks to emerge that will distribute scoring more effectively. Defenseman Filip Kuba’s 40 points were good for fourth on the team after Spezza/Heatley/Alfredsson.

Nick Foligno came through with 17 goals as a sophomore, will look for increased opportunities with Michalek and other new faces; speedy Ryan Shannon has to find some goals (he had eight in 35 games last year) or he’s headed back to the AHL for good.

Filip Kuba and Chris Phillips are the only defensemen signed beyond this season. Both are solid in the shutdown game, but the defense accounts for few goals these days. One bright note, Chris Campoli came over from the Islanders last season and recorded five goals in 25 games with the Sens, offering some offensive potential from the blue line. 19-year-old Erik Karlsson (Sweden) could be pressed into action as the club seeks more scoring from the blueline. In general, Ottawa’s defense has never recovered from Zdeno Chara’s departure.

In goal, Pascal Leclaire seeks to avoid what has become quite a scrapheap of goaltenders. Martin Gerber, Ray Emery, Alex Auld, Patrick Lalime, etc…Leclaire had a stellar 2007-08 campaign with Ken Hitchcock’s Blue Jackets, and looks for a new start in Ottawa now that the Jackets have Steve Mason. Brian Elliott, 24, won 16 of 31 games with the Sens last season, and will press Leclaire if he falters. Coach Cory Clouston will feel no allegiance to either Elliott or Leclaire.