Heatley for Havlat: The Morning After

Great piece Bryan.

but everyone needs another chance. He clearly makes the Wild a much better team. We now have TWO Solid scoring lines & one hell of a checking line. If our defense can keep it together we will be in a great position.

Sorry, I get annoyed by that. Thank you.

Funny thing is I once did that very same trade in NHL09…and NHL10… in fact, whenever Heatley was available, I always took him… feels weird to actually have him on the team.

I think these moves gets the Wild to the #8 or #7 spots, maybe a little higher than that if running on all cylinders.

That being said, still a lot of questions to answer before October – like what my GM’s plan is going to produce for us.

1) I was actually really interested to see Havlat play in Mike Yeo’s puck possession type system. I thought he would’ve thrived seeing as he was really good on the puck (albeit he ALWAYS held on to it too long). Too bad though, see ya later Marty!

2) Koivu will have a big year, but no one’s talking about PMB. If the dude can stay healthy I think he’s in for an amazing year.

3) The playoffs finally seem within reach! The defensive corps is a question mark, but if Spurge can repeat the year he had last year and Scandella can step up in a big way, this team will be looking better and better every minute!

4) Both acquired players contracts (Seto and Heater) are three years long. This, along with Koivu’s contract, give the Wild a really solid core to build around for the playoffs in the next few years. Cullen, PMB, and Clutter all have a couple years left as well. So these trades put the Wild in a great position to make a long run into the playoffs a couple years down the road.

I mean, when your franchise makes a huge trade, you have to try to see the bright side, right?

I’d caution Wild fans to temper their expectations, though. I believe Heatley to be a slow, poorly-conditioned player who has an elite shot and not much else. As he ages, the effect of his poor conditioning shows itself more and more in his stats. There is a chance that he takes this offseason to get into shape, but I doubt that will happen—as I mentioned elsewhere, his career seems to be defined by running from adversity rather than rising to its challenges.

There’s no doubt about Heatley’s talent, though I don’t believe he’ll ever sniff 100 points again. I don’t believe that Heatley is the kind of player who can dominate games by himself. He has been a passenger for his whole career, and if you expect more than that, you’ll quickly find yourselves disappointed.

But as fun as he is to watch when the going’s good, he’s at least as frustrating to watch when things aren’t so good.

Dany Heatley is, or at least has been, a world-class finisher. He rarely generates his own scoring chances, hardly ever backchecks, and doesn’t really ever seem to have a ‘high gear’ he can get into in clutch situations. The only exception seems to be when he’s playing for Team Canada internationally, but seeing his performances there just make it all the more aggravating when he’s mailing it in during the regular season. If he does develop chemistry with Koivu, things might turn out well. Time will tell.

While I wish you the best during the Heatley experiment, I’m not optimistic it will turn out in your favour. Even if Heatley doesn’t demand a trade when things are challenging, he might just stop playing with much in the way of intensity.

You’ve gotta hand it to Fletcher. He’s good at fixing problems. Last year, we needed centers. Boy, we’ve got centers now. This year, we needed scorers, and boy, we’ve got scorers now. Since the day he got here, we needed prospects, and boy o boy do we have prospects. I’m not gonna lie and say everything he’s done is golden (Kobasew, Barker) but he is also quick to fix his mistakes.

The future looks bright.

We get it. You’re butt hurt about Dany Heatley. You don’t like him and he didn’t like you.

But damn. Please let the goal starved Wild fans be excited about this for at least a day before you rain on everybody’s parade.

Sincerely,
A goal starved Wild fan

love the optimism and believe Fletcher made two outstanding trades
Wild will contend for a playoff position
but the D corps needs work
losing Burns is BIG
and even WITH Burns, the D still wasn’t elite
anyone think Fletch may land Kaberle?

I woke up this morning hoping the trade was just a dream but alas, Heatley is gone. While I believe Havlat is a good player and will probably do very well centered by Jumbo Joe Thornton, I don’t believe Havlat is a better player than Heatley. Dany had a groin injury that was not healed up properly last season, which hampered his numbers but his first year with us he was a PPG player. With the Sens during their Cup Final run, he has 15 goals, 22 assists. Not too shabby.

I think most Sharks fans were way too hard on Dany… a lot like they are hard on Marleau and if DH had another year, I bet they would have gotten back on the DH bandwagon just like they do about Marleau.

Between he and Seto, you’re looking at 55-60 goals IF they have a world class passer/center to support them. I wish them both well and hope they flourish under the Minnesota system… except during those 4 games against the Sharks.

Yeah, I understand being pissed about the Heatley demanded trade. But the truth is, he didn’t like Clouston and he obviously had an inkling of something because I don’t see Clouston as the Sens head coach any longer. You know when you will work in a system, you know when you don’t. I think Dany knew he didn’t fit with Clouston… just like the entire team didn’t fit with Clouston.

Just my opinion though.

I’m now a supporter of your team. Well I never disliked you guys, but I’m more of a supporter now. I love Heater and Seto and I hope they do well and help your team out. Not against the Sharks though, of course. ;)

just wanted to drop by and give my 2 cents.

I liked Heatley. You’ve pointed our some things that we were also wary of when we acquired him 2 years ago, the trade demands and the Dan Snyder incident. However, during his time in San Jose he was a complete professional and seemed like an all around great guy.

His first game as a Shark in San Jose he scored a hat trick and the fans chanted his name. He never scored 50 goals for us (which is something we were looking for) but he played well.

Last year was an off year for him, but he still scored 30+ goals and 60+ points. Our growing concern was injuries and playoff performance. He has been injured the past 2 post-seasons and there were some rumors that they’ve never quite healed completely. This will be a very telling year of where he is physically and if his game is still at the elite level.

I’m disappointed to see him go, but I’m also looking to the future. He was only with us for 2 years so I didn’t grow too attached, but I liked him just the same and wish him well with the Wild (same as Seto).

Just gives me another reason to like the Wild. I already liked the team before these trades (Cal Clutterbuck is a BEAST, I love that guy, Zidlicky too).

Things just got a whole lot more interesting.

“Heater-Koivu-Bouch
Lats-Wellman-Seto
Powe-Cullen-Clutter
Nystrom-Brodziak-Gilles/Almond”

I’m taking an I’ll beleive it when I see it approach to Wellman. I think K Bro’s lunch pail game can work with Lats and Gooch. He’ll be the designated backchecker and hes good with faceoffs. He’ll play the same roll he played ( successfully) with Hlat and Glat.

Wow! Good trade. Good GM. Good team. I think the Wild can finally start rewarding their awesome fanbase with some playoff hockey?

Why, I finally thought that this year the Wild would be well outside ot the playoff chase, I would not have to save cash, Vacation/sick/personal days just in case we make the playoffs, now this deal should put them solidly in the 10-6 spots in the West. Good job Fletch.

My real point would be, Todd Richards has to be saying WTF? I kinda woulda liked a shooter or two when I was there. I know Richards being let go probably had more to do with the second period breakdowns and the end of season collapse, but still you gotta wonder if he could have done better. I guess Welcome to the pressure cooker Mike Yeo.

Another Sharks fan here. I’ve never really chimed in over here about the Seto trade, so I figured I’d chime in about both trades, now that two of my favorite players call the Wild home.

Setoguchi was always a thrilling player to watch, though his inconsistency and streakiness could be incredibly frustrating. Like many players before and after him, he benefited greatly from playing on a line with Thornton, so I’m not necessarily willing to ordain him as a 30+ goal scorer necessarily, but who knows. He could finally find the consistency in Minnesota that seemed to elude him in San Jose. That said, considering the premium that players such as Burns command in the current market, I’m ok with the price we paid, assuming Burns is retained after this season. Seto will quickly become a fan favorite there – enjoy him.

As for the Heatley trade, well, I’m very displeased with it, and not just because he’s one of my favorites. People who label Heatley as an underachiever in San Jose cite his lack of production in two postseasons in San Jose as evidence. Sure, can’t argue with his postseason numbers, or lack thereof, while a Shark. But you also can’t argue with the severity of his injuries during both postseasons, nor with the severity of injuries to key teammates, in both postseasons. With the amount of offensive firepower on that roster, it’s not fair to pin the team’s shortcomings on one person. When this trade occurred, he was one season removed from scoring 39 goals, an impressive feat when he played on a line that collectively notched over 250 points that season. My point is, I don’t consider that a down season, when another player on his line scored 44 goals. What’s even more impressive is that was his first season being centered by Thornton, and despite Marleau having several years on Heatley in terms of chemistry as Thornton’s linemate, he was only 5 goals short of Marleau’s production that year. As for other assertions made about Heatley, such as his attitude, locker room dynamics, etc., they’re all perpetuated by the media, but never by anyone that’s played with him. We can speculate all day about what he’s like as a teammate and player, and the hockey media sure likes to do so as well, but the reality of it is that neither us, nor the media, have any idea as to what it was like to actually be a teammate of his on any of the teams he was on. What we do have to go on is statements from numerous former teammates of him, most of which seem to say nothing but good things. As for the car accident that still seems to be the butt of many a joke, I’m not even going to dignify that with a comment. I hope you guys, as Wild fans, will grant him the same benefit of the doubt we did here in San Jose.

Sure, he may never regain the step(s) he seemed to lose as a result of two seasons of injuries, the nature of which are particularly bad for someone with his skill set, but then again, there’s a good chance he will.

i love seto and heater and i really hope they do well for you guys, but i’m honestly mostly disappointed about losing coyle. I was so excited to see him play for us. i hope you guys look into him because if he continues to develop the way he has he will be a beast in the NHL. possibly another couture