My mother had pulled the red, white and black Ottawa Senators sweater over my head and put my arms into the sleeves, each with Dany Heatley's "15" on it. She pulled the sweater down and carefully smoothed the centurion right in the middle of my chest.

I was crying: "I can't wear that."

"Why not? The sweater is a perfect fit."

"Maurice Richard would never wear it."

"You're not Maurice Richard! Besides, it's not what you put on your back that matters, it's what you put inside your head."

"You'll never make me put in my head to wear a Dany Heatley sweater."

-- With apologies to Roch Carrier

There are not many people wearing Dany Heatley sweaters in public these days. And until two days ago, I had never tried. So to prepare myself for the ridicule and shame I might incur in the process, I re-read Roch Carrier's classic tale, The Hockey Sweater.

In it, a young boy in rural francophone Quebec in 1946 is accidentally sent a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater by the Eaton's mail-order department, when what he wants -- and what his friends all wear -- is a Montreal Canadiens jersey with Maurice "The Rocket" Richard's No. 9 on the back. His mother refuses to return it, lest she insult Mr. Eaton, a Leafs fan. Instead, the boy is humiliated, made worse when he is benched.

The signs at Sports Experts at Bayshore on Friday, meanwhile, suggested a sale on "selected" NHL merchandise, but what was most evident was that every item connected with the Senators' disgruntled winger was half price.

Oh sure, a few others were, too, such as the Antoine Vermette sweaters, but c'mon, he was traded to Columbus last March. Meanwhile, the Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson jerseys were full price. Chris Phillips? Full price. Jarkko Ruutu? Full price. Hell, you couldn't even get a deal on a Jesse Winchester jersey.

But Dany Heatley, who scored more goals than any Senator last year, who scored more game-winning goals than anyone on the team -- as many as Alfredsson and Spezza combined -- and who scored more often per shot than anyone on the roster, was being liquidated. And why? Simply because he had demanded a trade from Ottawa, where he earns $7.5 million a year TO PLAY HOCKEY, and where, four days ago, he snagged a $4-million bonus.

Who wouldn't want out?

The sale of NHL merchandise at Sports Experts began, sales clerks Nicole Swartzack and Cindy Fung explained, almost a month ago. So far, though, neither had sold a single item with the number "15" stitched on it.

"We had a rack of them right at the front," Nicole explained, "and people would walk by and look ...

"... and they'd just laugh," said Cindy, finishing the thought.

No one would laugh at me. I decided to buy one of these semi-precious Heatley jerseys -- now a mere $99.99 plus tax -- and wear it on Ottawa's streets and in its sports bars to see what hockey fans had to say.

No sooner had I taken one off the rack when a customer in his early 50s commented: "You might get beaten up wearing that."

A young woman looking at non-Heatley sweaters for youngsters, meanwhile, added, "You're gonna get pelted."

And as I left the store in the jersey, I heard a third customer, a teenager, call out: "You're a brave man."

Apparently not, though, or at least not at Bayshore's food court, where after sitting for a silent snack, it took three ever-slowing circumnavigations of the area before a snow-haired woman -- let's call her 70 -- commented on my bravery. Later, I felt what can only be described as an evil eye of Old Testament proportion shot my way from the woman behind the Treats counter, but looks were difficult to gauge -- as Henry Kissinger once remarked, even a paranoid has some enemies. Similarly, however, when a two- or three-year-old toddler waved, I chose not to take it personally -- he was young, I reasoned; eventually, he'd allow himself to be disappointed by sports heroes.

- - -

The Senators' flag waving in the rain above the Bank Street entrance to Local Heroes is frayed, but not yet at half-staff. Despite the dinner hour, the restaurant was slow to fill Friday, but it was standing-room only at the bar where a group of men, none too far from one side or the other of retirement, were having drinks.

The arrival of Heatley's proxy almost instantly derailed their conversation.

"He'll be driving the team bus next year," said one who looked like a veteran firefighter, explaining that the team will have to recoup the $4-million bonus it just gave Heatley. He added a joke about the 2003 driving death of Dan Snyder, former Atlanta Thrasher and Heatley friend and teammate. The gloves have come off in this spat between Ottawa and Heatley.

"He just bought a condo down on George Street for $2.5 million," added the firefighter. "Why would he do that and then ask to be traded?"

"This is as bad as Yashin," said his seatmate, wearing a T-shirt that read Federal Accountability.

"Maybe we should all join the NAC," he added, referring to Alexei Yashin's famous million-dollar non-donation, "then see what Heatley does."

More than merely angry at Heatley, these men seemed hurt and confused. But after venting for a few minutes, it was on to other matters.

"What did you do for Canada Day?" one asked his companion.

"Um ... I slept in."

- - -

Moxie's Classic Grill in Kanata's Centrum is in the heart of Senators country, and it's not difficult to understand why the place is reputedly among players' favourite hangouts -- the music pounds relentlessly, while there's enough combined leg and cleavage to choke James Bond.

But on a Friday night in July, the sight of a Heatley jersey on a post-middle aged male broke no one's stride. A table of five twentysomething males briefly saw me, but then a waitress crossed between us, and even a bright red jersey faded into the background.

It was fitting, though, that the only comment the Heatley sweater provoked at the unwalkable Centrum was a drive-by, as a passing SUV slowed, the driver rolling down his window and shouting, "I'll give you 10 bucks for the sweater!"

When, feigning insult, I shouted back "Ten? " the driver adjusted his offer: "OK, then, five."

- - -

There are a half dozen large-screen TVs along a wall of MacLaren's on Elgin Street, plus at least a dozen smaller -- but by no means small -- televisions scattered throughout the large room. There are even TVs in the washrooms.

On May 19, 2007, every set was tuned to hockey, as Ottawa won the fifth and deciding game in their Eastern Conference final against the Buffalo Sabres, a 3-2 overtime effort that propelled the Senators to their first Stanley Cup final in 80 years.

The bar was full that Saturday afternoon, and it shook with cheers when, with just over four minutes left in the second period, Dany Heatley scored for the Sens, tying the game at one goal apiece. Minutes later, the room shook again when Heatley made a great defensive play that set up Jason Spezza's go-ahead goal.

On Friday, MacLaren's was a far different bar. The TVs were divided equally between golf, a B.C.-Saskatchewan CFL game, and a soccer match between Canada and Jamaica that was scoreless for the first 75 minutes.

Shooting pool, I waited for someone to say something.

And I waited.

And waited.

Finally, I noticed one of the two young men at the next table staring. I stared back, daring him to speak. He straightened his back and puffed out his chest. Here it comes. He shifted from one foot to the other, and craned his neck a bit. No, he was not going to approach. He was trying to watch soccer, and I was in the way of the TV.

Eventually I left, stepping out into what was once the Sens Mile.

"Burn the jersey," said a voice from behind me.

"Pardon?"

"I said burn the jersey. Burn the jersey and sit him in the minors for the rest of his seven years."

A patron at Hooley's, Mark was getting some air when I walked by. His family, he said, have been season ticket holders, four rows up from the glass, since the team re-formed in 1992. "He's a traitor. You want to play hardball, we'll play hardball back," he added.

"He gets his $37.5 million, but he never plays hockey again in the big leagues."

"I don't care for him," chimed in Mark's friend Mike. "He's a traitor. He's not trustworthy."

"What about two years ago?" I asked.

"Two years ago he earned his money."

Mike also invoked the memory of Alexei Yashin. "Yashin wanted more money. Heatley HAS the money -- he just doesn't want to be here.

"That kicks you more in the gut."

- - -

Wearing my Dany Heatley sweater, I went to church, where I prayed to God; I asked him to send, as quickly as possible, moths that would eat up my Dany Heatley sweater.

-- More apologies to Roch Carrier.

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