The Ottawa Senators appear to be back at Square 1 in the Dany Heatley saga.

A trade proposed earlier this week that would have seen the disgruntled left-winger dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for three players is off the table, at least for now, Senators GM Bryan Murray said Thursday, after having to pay Heatley a US $4-million signing bonus at midnight Wednesday.

"Well, it's different now and I don't know if we will continue or not," Murray said of the trade with the Oilers that would have sent forwards Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and defenceman Ladislav Smid to Ottawa. "I will, I believe, during the day talk to (Oilers GM) Steve Tambellini again, but very definitely, it's not the same deal as it was yesterday."

Murray was blunt when asked where that leaves Heatley now.

"Nowhere, he's an Ottawa Senator," he said.

Just prior to the NHL draft last month, Heatley requested a trade through his agents, J.P. Barry and Stacey MacAlpine, citing his dissatisfaction over his diminished playing time and role with the club since Cory Clouston took over as coach in February.

With five years and $35 million remaining on his contract, with a salary-cap hit of $7.5 million per season, Murray is finding the 28-year-old tough to move.

He reached a deal with the Oilers, only to have Heatley, who has a no-trade agreement in his contract, nix the deal. Murray said he doesn't know why Heatley wouldn't agree to the move.

The Oilers reportedly sent representatives to meet with Heatley at his summer home in Kelowna, B.C., but Murray had no intention of doing likewise.

Tambellini was expected to speak to the media in Edmonton later Thursday, but Murray said the teams' original deal was no longer an option as a result of Ottawa being forced to pay out Heatley's bonus and there are no other potential deals on the horizon.

"I think if you call around the league to the other general managers, you'll find out there were many calls made, many options thrown out there, back and forth with teams. Not a lot of teams were interested in making an offer," Murray said.