Heatley Gets His Move

The Heatley trade saga came down to the last minute but Murray finally pulled the trigger on the first day of camp. The deal to San Jose actually looks great for both Heatley and the Senators.

The Senators had to move Heatley. Rumors were already spreading about the real reason that Heatley demanded the trade and the situation was just going to get worse if he was not moved. The net result for the Sens is that they lose Heatley, but pick up Cheechoo and Michalek to go with the free agent acquisition of Kovalev. Add this to Spezza and Alfredsson and you have a wealth of top six forwards.

Since their playoff run of a few years back, the Senators have been stagnant and in decline. While Spezza and Heatley were a great combination, the team was relying on them too much. Though Heatley is the best player in the deal, you could argue that this trade even makes sense from a hockey perspective.

Michalek could be the biggest piece of the puzzle. At 24 years of age is he is already a proven 25 goal scorer and could easily be a 30 goal a year man on the top line. He also has size, speed and is responsible at the defensive side of the game as well. He should fit in well with Spezza on the top line and contribute to the first power play unit. With Alfredsson or Kovalev on the other wing I don’t expect the team to lose much production from their first line.

Cheechoo is a bit of a wild card and fans may be expecting a bit too much. He did win the Rocket Richard award in 2005/06 when he had 56 goals, but its been downhill since then. He was never fast, but after his sports hernia surgery he lost some of the jump he once had. Don’t look for Cheechoo to be a top scorer with the Sens and he may well be slotted in to a third line role. The net result however is a deeper team with more of the scoring spread out amongst the top three lines.

For Heatley, the move to San Jose is perfect. The team is a perennial winner, but being in California he will not be exposed to daily media glare. For a goal scorer you can not ask for more then to be paired up with Joe Thornton so he can expect another 50 goal season. Heatley should also be very motivated to confirm his standing as a top player so I see him coming out of the gate fast and earning a spot on the Olympic team.

From San Jose’s perspective, their GM promised to remake the team after another disappointing playoff performance and this trade qualifies as a bold move. Heatley adds flash and will add goals, but I really don’t see this as a move that makes them a stronger playoff team. Look for San Jose to have another good regular season but I don’t see them making it past the second round of the playoffs.

Conventional hockey wisdom states that the team that gets the best player in a trade wins the deal. While Heatley is the best player, I’m going to give this trade to Ottawa. They eliminated a distraction, shook up a team on a downward slide, and netted Kovalev, Michalek and Cheechoo to replace Heatley. A good move up front, though I would have liked to see them strengthen their blue line.