Heatley Goes Wild

Minnesota ships out Havlat and Heatley joins the Wild.

I'm of mixed feelings on this. When Heatley joined the Sharks it was a godsend. An offensive team with a gifted playmaking pivot - let the music begin! But after another flameout in the playoffs (against Detroit) they switched their coaching style to a NJ-esque defense first model, Heatley got bumped off the first line to ride shotgun for Logan Couture, and his numbers nose dived, as the team once again thrived in the regular season. Come play off time, Heatley toughed it out through a high-ankle sprain and took abuse from the media for the resulting poorer play (once upon a time Thornton sucked it up and played through a rib injury that would have felled a leser being, but noticeably laboured with it and had no points in 4 games of a sweep. The media labeled him a playoff no-show, and here we go again).

In contrast, the Wild are desperately trying to move on from the Jacques Lemaire years, and install a more up-tempo offense. Havlat was expected to be a part of that - unfortunately Havlat is still as fragile as ever (whether he is just Straka fragile or full-blown Nylander at this stage is an open question. Tim Connolly is also entering this purgatory), and can't drive the bus himself offensively.

Miiko Koivu is no Joe Thornton, but if Heatley wasn't going to play with Thornton except on the powerplay then Koivu is superior to Couture by a good mile.

Still, I am kind of sad to see Heatley leave the Teal behind - but also sad that Calgary wasn't able to land him.

Side Notes:

Heatley didn't have a NTC anymore because for some weird reason it disappears once he allows himself to be traded. It's a nuclear option he had with Ottawa only. He can prevent a trade to Edmonton, but once he agrees to be dealt to San Jose he can't subsequently prevent SJ from dealing him to Minnesota. And you thought the FUNHL rules were complicated.

Havlat just moved in to a strange situation. He has better wheels than Heatley, but lacks the passing, size, checking, and face-off stuff that Heatley brings to the table. It's also an open question who the best pivot for him is. Thornton is the top center on the team, but every other player has bounced around lines (what line does Devon Setoguchi play on?), positions (what wing is Ryan Clowe going to be on?), or both (Marleau from a #2 C to #1 LW).

I hate the Minnesota jerseys. Hate. Them. Not as much as I hated the idea of wearing a San Jose jersey though. That all said, if he helps me win another Cup, I'd probably go with his gold medal Olympic jersey before either.