Three dominant players, three great teammates

It was October 28, 2005 and Dany Heatley was less than a month into his tenure with the Ottawa Senators.

But that night, he discovered just how intense the provincial rivalry was between the Senators and the Maple Leafs. While dining out with some of his teammates in Toronto, a die-hard Maple Leafs fan startled heckling the Ottawa players.

Heatley did not sit by quietly.

“He told the fan that we would beat the Leafs every game that year. And he meant it,” recalls Chris Neil.

The following night against the Maple Leafs, Heatley scored the team’s third goal on the evening. And the fourth. Then the fifth.

He added the sixth goal for good measure.

Four straight goals for Heatley en route to an 8-0 thrashing of the Maple Leafs.

Neil says Heatley being inspired by that loudmouth critic in Toronto was the perfect example of how all three members of the Pizza Line – including Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson – could be motivated.

“That is the type of guys they were. They had that competitive edge,” adds Neil. “They were leaders in there.”

Chris Phillips has similar memories of the dangerous winger who enjoyed consecutive 50-goal seasons with Ottawa.

“Heater sometimes came across as a carefree loving life kind of guy. Well, I sat beside him on the plane. He often would be on his computer, watching film of the goalie that we were going to play the next night,” says Phillips. “He was looking for tendencies. He wanted to know where to shoot and where not to shoot. And that is only one example of how serious he was about stuff.”

 Neil and Phillips can still be seen at Canadian Tire Centre on a daily basis. They'll certainly have a front-row seat on Thursday, when Heatley will be officially welcomed back to Ottawa. For the first time in 15 years, the three members of the Pizza Line will be reunited. They will take part in the ceremonial puck drop prior to the Senators' game against the Detroit Red Wings.

“Obviously for the fanbase, it’s awesome. It is crazy when you start talking about what happened 20 years ago. There will be lots of kids at the rink that never had the opportunity to see them play. They weren’t even alive yet,” says Phillips. “Those who saw them play will  be able to thank those guys, to thank Heater. The guy had back-to-back 50 goal seasons for us. He was the guy to do that here. It will be a great opportunity for fans to say thank you.”

During the Pizza Line's four seasons, the Senators posted a dominant regular season record of 179-112-37 and reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2007.

During this period, Heatley scored 180 goals and recorded 362 points. Alfredsson was close behind, with 353 points, including 136 goals. Spezza was sometimes described as a pure playmaker. Yet he managed to score 119 times, to go along with his 223 assists.

“Time goes by so quickly,” says former teammate Antoine Vermette. “Back then, we knew we were a good team. For us, the playoffs were almost a formality. When the season started, we didn't ask ourselves if we were going to make the playoffs. We wondered if we were going to win it all. We almost took it for granted. We were young. We were carefree. Sometimes, the veterans on our team had to remind us that these opportunities don't come along every year in a career.”

“All three guys had a different way of playing but when you put them all together, we had such a special group. They truly were one of the best lines in the NHL,” says Wade Redden, who was a Pizza Line teammate for three seasons. “Alfie made every line on the team better. He did everything, he worked hard and he was good at both ends of the rink. Heater and Spezz were both special. We had a passer and a shooter. They fit perfectly together.”

The Pizza Line was formidable at even strength, but they were even more lethal on the power play. Between 2005 and 2009, the team maintained an efficiency rate of 19.2%, good for seventh in the NHL. With Redden and - often - Neil, the trio was always dangerous.

 “I was watching the games in California this weekend and I couldn’t help thinking about how the game has changed,” says Phillips. “These days, you often see the puck carrier dropping the puck back. Back then, our top power play unit came down with speed with options on both sides. I don’t even think we ever had meetings on how to enter the zone on the power play. It was just a given.”

“Our power play was such a threat. Alfie could shoot and Heater could shoot. Spezza was making all the plays. Those guys could read off each other so well. We had a threat on both sides,” says Neil. “And then, we added a net front presence. I remember Alfie telling me to go stand there. He told me not to worry because he wouldn’t hit me.”

Scoring at all costs

 Redden forged a special bond with Heatley during the heyday of the Pizza Line. The two Senators teammates both spent their summers in the Kelowna region of British Columbia.

“Back there, Dany was not the most popular guy,” says Redden. “Nobody wanted to block one of his one-timers with their ankles. That was his mindset, though. When he was on the ice, he always wanted to shoot to score. It was a great mentality for him to have.”

Back then, Heatley loved to shoot, above anything else. The more he shot, the better his chances were of scoring.

“His shots weren't always the prettiest, the most powerful or the most precise,” Vermette recalls. “Often, the puck would find its way in. Dany just had confidence in his abilities. He'd find a way to surprise the goalie.”

Neil has been involved in coaching minor hockey in Ottawa for several years and he often shares an anecdote from Heatley with his young players.  

“Heater said that he scores on 60 % of his misses. Sometimes, when he wanted to go top shelf, he would instead go five hole. He had that knack to hit the net. On the power play, every time, it was lethal.”