Evaluating Heatley For Havlat

Whenever a trade in the NHL occurs, the immediate reaction dictates that we need to determine and declare an immediate winner or loser to the deal. So with news late last night that the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild had consummated a rare one-for-one trade that sent Martin Havlat in exchange for Dany Heatley, who better to break down a deal involving two former Senators players than The 6^th Sens?

From a Senators perspective, aside from perhaps Bill Muckalt’s inability to dent the twine, few things provide greater pleasure than being able to heap excrement on Dany Heatley’s reputation. Like Bruce Garrioch tweets mocking Brian Elliott, nothing comes easier for this site. For us, it’s the equivalent to using a Google news search to find some Senators links; copy and paste said links into an article; and lazily publish it to drive some website traffic.

So without further ado, let’s break this down:

Dany Heatley

Mislabeled as a power forward when he arrived in Ottawa, Heatley’s game can most accurately be described as a backswing and follow through. Okay, so I may be a little facetious here, his game also includes calling for passes by waving his stick like he’s some unemployed PEI’er who has been waiting since 4 am this morning to wave and receive visual recognition from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. (Topical!)

Heatley is the hockey equivalent to a pinball flipper – a stationary object that idly sits by and serves no greater purpose than to shoot objects at targets and hopefully rack up some significant point totals.

The problem with Heatley is that he’s an incredibly accurate shooter who benefits greatly from favourable starting positions in the offensive zone and posting consistently high shooting percentages. Since he’s never been one to drive puck possession or do much of anything else for that matter, the problem therein is that if he’s not scoring frequently, he becomes an expensive commodity who does not contribute in other facets of the game.

Truth be told, it would be unwise for Wild fans to expect some physicality or a consistent work ethic. Heatley’s reputation has been dogged by accusations that he doesn’t work particularly hard and relies too heavily upon his innate talent to carry his play. Unfortunately, now that he’s on the wrong side of 30, one has to wonder how much longer he’ll be able to contribute consistently if he can’t start taking his off-ice conditioning more seriously.

Fortunately for Minnesota, Heatley’s displayed somewhat of a knack for being motivated in his first season with each new organization that he’s played for. I can still remember the first public photos of Heatley when he arrived at the Calgary Airport for the 2010 Canadian Olympic team development camp. You could barely recognize the guy because he looked to be in great shape. Am I still bitter about it? You bet!

Martin Havlat

Since patiently biding his time in the Senators organization as the team’s second/third line right-winger, Havlat has long carried a reputation as a highly skilled player who should eventually be the catalyst of an offence with increased minutes and better linemates.

And even though Havlat received first line opportunities in Chicago and Minnesota, his production has never really mirrored his talents – topping the 70-point mark only once. I would never describe Havlat as a disappointment. He’s simply not an elite talent capable of carrying teams or a player that you construct a team around. Instead, I’d prefer to describe him as a great complimentary piece on very good team.

It’s for this reason that Michael Russo from the Minneapolis Star Tribune points out, Havlat never really fit in on a bad Wild team.

Whereas Heatley relies on his shot, Marty’s speed and puck possession skills make him a dangerous offensive threat that is better suited to playoff style hockey. Their respective playoff numbers reflect this. Moving on…

Financial Implications

When the trade officially was announced, I thought that it might be a salary dump by the Wild to get out from what I believed was an excessive Havlat term. It turns out, that’s not even the case: Havlat’s owed $5.0 million per annum for the next 4 seasons while Heatley will net $22.5 million for the next three.

It’s that kind of extra financial flexibility that allowed the Sharks to go out and ink a player like Michal Handzus.

Edge: San Jose

Age

Even though Heatley skates like a 76 year old, both players are 30.

Edge: No one.

Injury Concerns

Despite avoiding a significant injury for the past three seasons, Havlat has long held a reputation as a player who can’t stay healthy. He’s only played more than 80 games once in his career.

Conversely, Heatley’s played in more than 80 games in 5 of the past 6 seasons. More importantly, Russo points out that Heatley’s waning production can be attributed to injuries that have nagged him for the past two seasons. Assuming that Heatley can shake these nagging issues, it’s reasonable to assume that some first line minutes and first unit power play time can boost his numbers. Well, at least it’s something that Wild fans can hang their hats on until Heatley becomes complacent and asks to be dealt to a city with a warmer climate.

Edge: Big edge to Minnesota

Intangibles

Just ask Ron Hextall and the rest of the Los Angeles Kings brass about what they think of the red flags surrounding Heatley’s character.

We know well enough of the issues that Heatley has with being used in a diminished role. Having been relegated to some second power play unit duties by then coach Todd McLellan, Senators fans joked that it was only a matter of time before Heater asked out of San Jose. (Note: It’ll be interesting to see if this actually happened.)

Heatley’s not alone in voicing displeasure with ice-time though. Last season, Havlat’s agent Allan Walsh criticized Todd Richards and the Minnesota coaching staff for how they were using his client.

Edge: San Jose

Winner of the Trade?

While I think the trade is beneficial for each of the involved organizations, Havlat and Heatley are the real winners of the deal. Havlat goes from an awful Minnesota team to one of the best teams in the Western Conference. For Heatley, a big factor in waiving his NTC to go to Minnesota has to do with the opportunity to play in the IIHF Worlds and inflate his Canadian international goal totals. Win-win.

Potpourri

There will be no excuses for the Senators not being able to sell out Heatley’s second return to ScotiaBank Place on October 11th. It coincides with opening night on Ottawa’s schedule.

What the Players are Saying…

“You always want another chance to prove people wrong.” ~ Heatley

“As a goal scorer and as a player, you want to be that guy;” plans to get into “great shape” ~ Heatley via Michael Russo (@Russostrib)