Danny Heatley has played his last game as a member of the San Jose Sharks.
In a shocking move that further proves how discontent the Sharks were with yet another season where they failed to make it to the Stanley Cup Final, Heatley, a two-time 50-goal scorer, was dealt to the Minnesota Wild for forward Martin Havlat.
The move to trade Heatley is a shocking one, considering that when the Sharks acquired him from Ottawa two seasons ago, they were hoping that he was the missing ingredient that could lift the perennial contending Sharks over the hump in the quest for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
But after scoring 39 goals during his first season in San Jose, Heatley’s total dropped to just 26 this past season. At 30 years of age, Heatley is still in the prime of his career and will be a great addition to the Wild, especially on their power play.
The pressure is on Sharks GM Doug Wilson to win Stanley Cup, and he needed to make a dramatic move to prove that he is committed to that goal. Although Heatley and Havlat are equals in their skill sets, Havlat brings a bit more speed to the Sharks as well as a knack for scoring big goals in the postseason.
“This is a guy when you are looking at high-end speed breakaway players that like to play in big moments, Marty is at top of that list,” Wilson said during a Sunday night conference call. “I’m very happy he was willing to waive his no-move (clause) to come to San Jose and when a player wants to come to your team, that’s a credit to him and we appreciate that.”
Havlat realizes that he has a chance to win in San Jose. The decision to go their seemed obvious. Will he finally be the missing piece to the puzzle in San Jose? Or will he simply play a part in another Sharks team that falls a series short of the Stanley Cup?
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