I probably should check with Dany Heatley personally before I even attempt to write this article. He may veto this.
All kidding aside, our favorite blogger big Ek has rumored that we have interest in Canadian bad boy Dany Heatley. Any truth to this? Possibly. Grain of Salt. Note this was also reported by Senschirp who is a pretty solid source on all things Senators. http://www.senschirp.ca/ (in the Kovalev comments)
In July it is fun to play with these little ideas since there doesn’t seem much else to do.
Edmonton had a deal in place for Penner, Cogliano, and Smid. In my opinion this is not an overwhelming package for a perennial all-star. However Heatley has quickly developed the prima-donna tag. Not a good one to have. This is his second location where he has requested a trade. He butted heads with the coach and probably sees the sinking Ottawa ship beginning to submerge. Not a bad time to leave. He completely screws over his teammates though.
Feasibility
We could definitely do this trade. It wouldn’t even put a big chink in our armor. Here is my play:
Huselius (4.75 a year) + Modin (3.5) + Russell (.750) = 9 million
Why? Rather than give up Filatov or Brassard or Voracek. I’d deal Russell. Murray loves Russell. Since we have to include Russell or another top young player, I make Murray eat Modin for a year.
Dany Heatley has a contract signed for 5 more years: 8, 8, 8, 6, 5.
UPDATE: I’ve learned that we would only have to pay 4 million dollars for his services this year because he was already paid a 4 million dollar bonus. This would really change the fabric of my proposed deal.
We’d actually cut salary this year. Next year when Raffi is gone (Huse + Raffi = 7.5 million) Heatley is a 500K increase.
This trade is actually very feasible for us so it is not a surprise to see us pop up in a rumor. That and Howson and Murray obviously talk as evident with the Vermette-Pazzy deal and persistant Russell manlove from Murray. It is also feasible when you look at some of the blueliners that might be appealing from Ottawa. Kuba, Phillips, Volchenkov, Lee, Picard could all be interesting names for us.
Be sure Jackets fans that if we do make a big deal for a player like Heatley we will likely win. Howson will not give away any of our young players without getting a pretty nice deal.
Nash – Brassard – Heatley
Umberger – Vermette – Voracek
Chimera – Pahlsson – Filatov
Torres – Murray – Dorsett ……………………….not bad at all.
Do I want Heatley? That’s a tough call. Of course there would be a honeymoon period. Of course this move could make us a Cup contender. If as I have proposed would I pay 2.75 million to upgrade from Heatley to Huselius… I probably would. Heatley is guarenteed offense and powerplay support. While I like Juice he was just a nice complimentary offensive player. I love the buy low though.
What do you think? Would you roll the dice on Heatley?