The Sunshine Skate

Havs and Havlats: Panthers Add Veteran Havlat on PTO

Alan Draper

Sports Editor

September 12 2015 3 min read

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The arrival of Havlat is interesting on two fronts. The first is the history he has with Panthers GM Dale Tallon. Havlat was traded for by Tallon (as Chicago’s GM) in July 2006 in a blockbuster three-way trade with the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks. Havlat would spend three years in Chicago, before leaving as a free agent. His departure also coincided with the removal of Tallon as GM in Chicago.

After signing in Minnesota, Havlat made it a point to publicly show his loyalty to Dale Tallon by openly criticizing Team President John McDonough over his treatment of the then-recently deposed GM. It is rare to see such frankness in an NHL environment where stepping out of line is dissuaded and players + coaches go out of their way to avoid saying controversial things. It is even rarer to see a player display that kind of affection for a general manager. That speaks volumes about the loyalty Havlat has for Tallon.

The other reason Havlat’s arrival brings some interest is his representation: he is a long time client of Allan Walsh. This is significant as Tallon is currently engaged negotiations with one of Walsh’s other clients: Jonathan Huberdeau. This does not have a direct affect on those negotiations, and it could be a coincidence, but relationships do matter.

Marty Havlat has been training in Montreal for last 6 weeks. Great history with Dale Tallon. https://t.co/IYjrKU00lg

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) September 12, 2015

Havlat’s last four seasons have largely not been great for him. Walking into a youthful, energetic environment under the stewardship of someone he has the utmost respect for could be just what he needs to get back on track. In turn, doing right by one of Walsh’s long term clients, one who has demonstrated strong loyalty in the past, could help Tallon calm the waters in the Huberdeau negotiations. We will have to wait to see if that is the case though.

As for the expectations fans should have for Havlat coming into camp, guarded anticipation is probably the best policy. Havlat was a great player in his prime, with arguably his best season coming in 2008-09 as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. He led the team with 77 points (29g/48a) in 81 games and a career high 56.3 CF% (+2.7% rel).

His performance has declined quite a bit since then. He has not had a season with a CF% rel over 0.2, over 50 points, nor over 50 games played since 2010-11 (he played 40 of 48 games for San Jose in 2012-13 though). It is not an encouraging statline. If healthy though, there is a chance he could rebound a little and provide some value. More likely though is he helps make sure that young Panthers don’t just get handed jobs this fall.

AJ can be reached for contact on Twitter.