No more...

There was a giant, collective sigh of relief Saturday afternoon in Ottawa. After what seemed like an endless summer of complete turmoil and disarray, Dany Heatley was traded to the San José Sharks along with a 5^th round draft pick for forwards Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek and a 2^nd round pick in the 2010 entry draft.

Like any trade that involves a particularly big name player, only time will tell who wins out on this deal. Many feel that it is tilted in San José’s favor, having landed unquestionably the best player of the three. But it really does take a few years to fully see how a blockbuster trade like this can affect a team, whether positively or negatively. When the Boston Bruins traded away Joe Thornton, one of the best centremen in the league a few years back, they were the laughing stock of the NHL. Look at them now.

In Ottawa, fans seem to be split three ways. There are those who are happy to see Heatley gone no matter the return… Good riddance to bad rubbish as they say. Ottawa’s had enough drama and locker room turbulence for the last few years, and his staying would have only made things worse.

Then there are those who feel Ottawa got completely fleeced and want GM Bryan Murray ousted. They expected nothing less than an elite player of equal value coming our way (or more). These tend to be the same folks that are adamant that Heatley would have had a career year with the Olympics coming up as well as his desire to be moved being out there for other GMs to chew on all season. Why trade him at all?

Finally, there are those like myself, who believe this to be a genuinely good deal. Michalek is a young guy with a ton of potential. He is as fast as they come and at 6’2, 226lbs, he is a beast. A beast with some soft hands, at that. On top of that, he is signed for the next 5 years at a very reasonable cap hit of $4.33M.

Cheechoo, as most hockey fans know, was untouchable a few years back when he scored 56 goals in the year after the lockout. However, his career has since been derailed by injuries, and a seeming inability to rediscover his confidence. Last year he had only 12 goals. This is a guy who desperately needs a second chance, and maybe he’ll get it here in Ottawa. He’s not afraid to crash the net and he plays with a ton of heart, two qualities a certain ex-Senator doesn't really share.

Not since the likes of Martin Havlat has this team had anything remotely close to quality secondary scoring. There have been flashes -- Fisher was fantastic in the cup run, Vermette had his moments, etc. -- but what we have now is an abundance of players that genuinely belong on scoring lines. Players will have to fight for spots, and that is never a bad thing.

To be honest, I think that San José are a weaker team now than they were going into the summer. In the last 2 weeks they’ve given up 2 good quality defensemen and 2 top 6 forwards. All they’ve gotten in return is 2 prospects who will likely never play in the NHL and Dany Heatley. To me, that’s taking a bigger risk than unloading an unhappy (albeit elite) sniper while beefing up your depth and clearing the air in the locker room.

Going by the comments under some of the San José online publications, Cheechoo was a definite fan favorite, and many are very sad to see him go. Michalek was extremely popular amongst the players in the dressing room, and by all accounts has a work ethic like no other. The word character has become somewhat of a cliché around these parts, but all indications are that these two guys simply ooze it.