The news didn't come as a shock, but the fact Patrick Marleau wasn't involved certainly is. The Sharks have acquire Dany Heatley and a fifth-round pick from the Ottawa Senators for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round pick.
The initial reaction has to be relief for fans, players and media in San Jose and Ottawa, who have waited the entire summer for a resolution to the Heatley saga. The Sharks get one of the top snipers in the league, a player capable of scoring 50 goals and 100 points, while the Senators receive a great young forward who has point-per-game potential and a veteran forward who has the ability to score 50 goals, even though his numbers have declined each of the last four seasons.
Obviously Shark fans have to be happy with Heatley. He brings an impressive resume, and should team with Joe Thornton to present one of the most dangerous duos in the NHL. In addition, he's performed very well in the playoffs, averaging over a point per game in two of his three trips to the postseason. The move bolsters the Sharks' top six forwards, presenting two dynamic scoring lines that teams will have to prepare for and gameplan against.
There are question marks about Heatley's character, and he's been vilified by many in the media as a crybaby or malcontent. He gets a clean slate coming to San Jose, and the fact he's left two teams on somewhat bad terms doesn't inspire much confidence, but time will tell how well he responds to the new environment.
Cutting through all the hype about San Jose's big name acquisition, the question has to be asked and the answer is unclear. Are the Sharks better today than they were 24 hours ago?
Offensively, it's hard to say yes. Sure Heatley could team up with Thornton to produce a 100-point season, but that probably isn't any more than the duo of Michalek and Cheechoo would have provided. Last season, Michalek and Chechoo (who definitely had a subpar year) combined to score 86 points, while Healtey recorded 72. You get more scoring up front, but nobody on the roster is going to replace Cheechoo's 29 points on the third line, which takes a major hit.
Defensively, the Sharks don't make any improvements. They lose one of their best penalty killers in Michalek, who teamed with Joe Pavelski to provide a reliable and dangerous pair, and although Cheechoo was miscast in a third-line role he was versatile enough to chip in on the power play and didn't hurt you defensively. Heatley won't be expected to take on a penalty killing role and isn't a strong defensive forward.
Make no mistake, the Sharks are going to be fun to watch. Heatley could invigorate Thornton, and there's no reason the big center shouldn't compete for the Art Ross trophy this season. However, that's all projection at this point. On paper, without all the hype, the deal appears to be a wash. In fact, if anything the Sharks take a step back defensively and reduce their depth even further.
The Sharks now have three forwards (Heatley $7.5, Thornton $7.2, Marleau $6.3) combining for a $21 million cap hit and the bottom two lines are clearly the team's achilles heel. Who's going to play on the third line with Torrey Mitchell, who continues to battle injury? Jamie McGinn? Jed Ortmeyer? Dan Hinote? Hopefully those top two lines can play 45 minutes a night, because the bottom two lines are downright scary.
Doug Wilson pulled the trigger on his third massive trade in the last five years. Will the risk pay off? We'll have to wait and see.
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