"Eugene Melnyk's voice sounded pleasant, as it most often does.

But there was no hiding the anger behind his words.

The owner of the Ottawa Senators is still shaking his head in disbelief over disgruntled winger Dany Heatley's refusal to waive his no-movement clause and accept a trade to the Edmonton Oilers.

He is clearly furious on many levels: from having to write a $4-million U.S. bonus cheque for Heatley, to the suggestions from agents that general manager Bryan Murray didn't work hard enough to arrange options for Heatley, to Heatley's gall in asking for a trade, yet refusing to accept one to the Oilers.

"I've never, ever seen something like this in my life," Melnyk said during an interview on The Fan 590 in Toronto, "where somebody says, 'I want to be traded,' but … 'No, I don't want to be traded to them.'

"I've never seen anything like this in my life."

The situation is now in what Melnyk called "no man's land."

Melnyk is particularly angry at whoever leaked Heatley's trade request. He said he has a good idea who did it, but says all it did was make everyone's life miserable, "including Dany's."

He's equally irritated that Heatley's agents, J.P. Barry and Stacey McAlpine, have suggested that Murray didn't work hard enough to arrange other possible trades.

That's ridiculous, said Melnyk, who himself stayed up until midnight on both Tuesday and Wednesday, waiting to see if the Heatley deal would get done.

"The only thing that really inflames you is the suggestion … that Bryan didn't work hard enough to get a trade done," said Melnyk.

"You know the show, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

'I mean, (Murray) did 29 phone-a-friend help lines. That's the equivalent. Then multiple calls and multiple calls, and multiple calls, and what he came up with was a deal, finally at the end.""