Shark Bitten

As the Sens are in San Jose to face the Sharks tomorrow, we all know what's on everyone's mind, Dany Heatley. For better or for worse, he was a huge part of our team and the fiasco this summer sure soured everyone's opinion on him and changed the way our team looked. So as we play him for the first time since he was traded (does anyone else think he partially picked San Jose because they didn't play IN Ottawa this year?), Sens Town looks back on the deal and tries to figure out who got the better of the swap.

Now to analyze this properly, we have to take into consideration the circumstances. Dany Heatley had made 10 million the past season in salary and was due a 4 million advance on his 2009-10 salary on July 1st. He had previously signed a 6 year extension to stay with the Sens worth 45 million on October 3rd, 2007, which included a no trade clause. At the time, it wasn't a big deal, as no one would have ever thought he would want out or that the Sens would ever want to trade him. Boy were we wrong.

Everything changed May 10th, 2009 when it became public that Heatley had asked the Senators for a trade. The hockey world was shocked. Sens Army was shocked. Even his teammates didn't seem to understand it. The speculation begun as to why he wanted out and the stories got wilder everyday. Was it players with drug problems as alluded to by Bill Watters? Perhaps something happened with another players significant other? What we did know was it simply wasn't the reason being told to us. He said he was upset at his diminished role with the club and that he was a team guy. Ya nothing says team player like complaining about your ice time going down, when we were one of the best teams in the NHL since your role had changed. That is the definition of selfish.

It was assumed he would be moved at the NHL Draft in Montreal, but that came and went. Why were there no offers for a 2 time 50 goal scorer? Is there something we didn't know about #15 or were teams lowballing us because the trade demand had become public and everyone knew we had to move him? Probably some of column A and some of column B. An intense hatred for Heatley was brewing.

The next important date was July 1st, 2009, when free agency started and Heatley was due a 4 million dollar advance on his 2009-10 salary, with another 4 million being paid over the season. Everyone knew they wanted to move him by then and who could blame them. I wouldn't want to be on the hook for 4 million to a guy I was getting rid of either. It was now late June and a trade was struck with the Edmonton Oilers. It wasn't a great deal in my opinion (though it looks a bit better now). The trade was Dany Heatley for Ladislav Smid, Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano. Word of the trade spread throughout Ottawa to mixed reviews. But wait, there was a problem. Heatley hadn't approved the deal yet and time was running out. It was reported he was consdiering his options and taking some time to see if he wanted to go to Deadmonton or not. In the end, the deadline came and went. The 4 million advance was paid in full. The city was furious.

Throughout the summer, the Edmonton deal remained on the table unbelievably. It must be awful to be an Oiler fan, always being turned down and being an undesired destination. The Oil even went as far as to go to his home in Kelowna and try to convince him that he should come. They were getting desperate and so were we. Not helping the situation was that Heatley himself remained mum, not saying a word about why he wanted out of Ottawa or why he had turned down the Edmonton deal. The speculation grew and his reputation was sinking, and not just in Ottawa but throughout the whole hockey world.

He was finally forced to speak in advance of the Team Canada orientation camp in August, but he barely said anything, even though he was talking finally. He did however spawn a soundbite that will last forever, when he said over and over again how he needed options and he stuck to his diminished role story like a murder does to his fake alibi. This was designed as a image make over but really, it made things worse and people thought he was even more clueless then ever.

It was now Sept 2009 and training camp was looming. Everyone was wondering what we would do. Would Heatley be forced to come back and play for us? Or would we deal him? Murray was saying that he wouldn't give him away and we were involved in a high stakes game of chicken. We all know what happened. The day camp opened, he was dealt exactly where he wanted the whole time, the San Jose Sharks. Murray said he knew he had to move him and San Jose was the only one's making an offer, so he took it. In his defence I think he did ok with this deal, but there are some aspects involved that made it bitter to swallow. So with that in mind, here is my breakdown on the infamous Heatley trade.

As well all know, the trade was Dany Heatley and a 5th round pick for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheecoo and a 2nd round pick. So lets' start with the salaries and the contracts. Dany Heatley will have a cap hit of 7.5 million for this year and the next four. Jonathan Cheechoo has a cap hit of 3 million a year for this year and next. Milan Michalek has a cap hit of 4.3 million for this year and the next 4 years. So in essence, we traded 7.5 million in salary for 7.3 million and lost the best player in the deal, which is never good.

So let's look at the player's stats so far this season. Dany Heatley, to no one's surprise, is lighting it up in San Jose, playing alongside perennial assist leader and perennial playoff underachiver Joe Thorton. To date he has 18 goals, 12 helpers and is a +3 through 27 games. Seeing this is nothing new to a Sens fan, as we all know he is lazy and a defensive liability. Plus 3 on a team that good, when he has that many points, has to be considered awful. Jonathan Cheechoo has 2 goals and 2 assists for a whopping 4 points and is a -6 on the year. To quote Dennis Green, he was who we thought he was, and that's not a good thing. And now the silver lining in the trade, Milan Michalek. According to Murray, the deal took so long because the Sharks refused to include him until the last minute and now I can see why. The 6th overall pick from the 2003 draft has been a pleasure to watch, playing a strong 2 way game and showing the effort that Dany never would produce. He was a surprising 13 goals and 5 assists and is a plus 1. He also happens to be one of the fastest guys in the league, plays on the PK and the PP, and is always a threat when he's on the ice. He's becoming a fan favorite here for sure.

So who won the trade? As much as I hate him, the Sharks did without a doubt. I'm sure that Murray did as well as possible given the circumstances, but we got taken. The Sharks got the best player and we paid half his salary this year. The Sharks got a 3 million salary dump in Cheechoo and managed to get a draft pick out of us as well. If we were taking Cheechoo, which I know we had to do to make it work salary wise and paying the 4 million advance, then shouldn't we have recieved a 1st rounder in return? While we're at it, let's be honest and give credit where credit is due. Obviously the Sharks management were smart enough to realise that Cheechoo was never that good of a player, despite his stats. How else do you explain a 56 goal guy only getting 3 million? The saving grace was Michalek. He's a very good player and he's only getting better, plus we have him signed long term at a very reasonable price.

So let's recap shall we. The Sens paid Dany Heatley 14 million in a calendar year, then traded him to San Jose with a 5th rounder for only a 2nd rounder, a 3 million dollar paperweight for this year and next, and a top 6 forward, who while I really like his game, has zero all star appearances to his name. In an era where cap space and high draft picks are as valuable as ever, we got neither.

Everyone knew we had to get rid of them, esepcially Doug Wilson, so he waited us out and got him for 50 cents on the dollar. That's what good GM's do. I have to give some credit to Bryan Murray, who also waited it out and was able to land Michalek at least, who appears to be a future star. Could he have done better? Maybe, maybe not. I guess it's like Heatley's real reason for wanting out, we will never really know.

Thoughts?

-The Mayor