A guy with a 3 million dollar cap hit who also has 5 goals and 9 assists on the year? 

Don Waddell can’t get to his phone quickly enough.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 02/12/10 at 12:19 PM ET

$3 million dollar cap hit for a guy with 14 points? No thanks. Just goes to show how terrible the Heatley deal was for Ottawa

Posted by Kstewy16 on 02/12/10 at 12:20 PM ET

Even if they could, my guess is that the Iserlohn Roosters would pass on that one…

Posted by ProjectMayhem on 02/12/10 at 12:21 PM ET

My men’s league team could use a 3rd line winger, we’ll take him. We pay in beer, ok Cheech?

Posted by Roboshow from Calgary on 02/12/10 at 12:29 PM ET

your men’s league has three lines? He’d be a sub on my team.

Posted by moore00 from Columbus, OH/Grand Rapids, MI on 02/12/10 at 12:41 PM ET

What would his cap hit be at this point in the season?  The guy has to have some talent to be the top goal scorer in the NHL a few seasons ago.

Posted by gretzky_to_lemieux on 02/12/10 at 12:43 PM ET

Oh yeah, please. The fuching whistles alone would be worth it.

Posted by TeamDub from The gratch. on 02/12/10 at 12:48 PM ET

@Kstewy16: how you can claim that the Heatley deal was terrible is beyond me. I’m not going to argue that Michalek is better than Heatley straight-up, the way Michalek plays opens up a lot of other offensive opportunities for the other players on the ice, in a way that Heatley never did. Getting him off the team has spread the offense around, and oh by the way, the Sens are leading their division this morning.

On point though, this seems to be a funny moment to put Cheechoo on waivers. He had maybe his best game in an Ottawa uniform just the other night versus Calgary, and his line played reasonably well against the Caps last night.

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, Yukon on 02/12/10 at 01:03 PM ET

how you can claim that the Heatley deal was terrible is beyond me.

If one presumes that Cheechoo is about done as an NHLer, which I think is reasonable, then Ottawa traded Dany Heatley for Michalek and a 2nd rounder.

Michalek’s having an okay season, but good God.  That trade was a dump.  Now, Ottawa had to do it because Heatley made it impossible to keep him, but it’s just not possible to look at that trade from the hockey side of things and not see it was a total rip off in favor of the Sharks.

On point though, this seems to be a funny moment to put Cheechoo on waivers.

Not if you’re looking to add salary to your team and you need the cap space.  I’d keep an eye on the Sens making a splash here shortly.  Getting a 3 mil contract off the books gives them some real room.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 02/12/10 at 01:17 PM ET

Oh yeah, please. The fuching whistles alone would be worth it.

Posted by TeamDub

Are you thinking of Tootoo?

Posted by Osrt on 02/12/10 at 01:20 PM ET

$3 million dollar cap hit for a guy with 14 points? No thanks. Just goes to show how terrible the Heatley deal was for Ottawa

Posted by Kstewy16 on 02/12/10 at 12:20 PM ET

Look at the Sens record. They did something right this season.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 02/12/10 at 01:35 PM ET

Finally, a scoring winger for Crosby!

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 02/12/10 at 01:38 PM ET

Are you thinking of Tootoo?

I’m thinking I drank a tad too much last night…

Posted by TeamDub from The gratch. on 02/12/10 at 02:06 PM ET

Moq, if the Sens call him up on re-entry waivers, I wouldn’t mind the Pens taking a chance at half the cap hit…

Posted by NHLJeff from Pens fan in Chicago, IL on 02/12/10 at 02:11 PM ET

Moq, if the Sens call him up on re-entry waivers, I wouldn’t mind the Pens taking a chance at half the cap hit…

Posted by NHLJeff

I would still be reluctant, and prefer to use the funds on a defenceman. Granted, it would be nice to add a borderline top-6 winger (at best, given our cap space), but I don’t think Cheechoo adds enough to our offensive production to warrent an investment.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 02/12/10 at 02:23 PM ET

Cheech isn’t an elite player.  I don’t think anyone will argue that.  What I think everyone is missing are two key elements.  (1.)  The Sharks had to move salary in order to absorb Heatley’s contract.  I’m certain that Cheechoo was not negotiable from San Jose’s perspective…  (2.) But the real key to all of this is - how amazing is Thornton, considering he got this guy a 3.5 million/year contract?  Since his departure from the Thornton line, we’ve seen NOTHING out of Cheechoo.  I think even I could get a deal if I was to be placed on Thornton’s line…

Would be interesting to see what Crosby could do for Cheech…

Posted by ProjectMayhem on 02/12/10 at 02:51 PM ET

Michalek’s having an okay season, but good God.  That trade was a dump.  Now, Ottawa had to do it because Heatley made it impossible to keep him, but it’s just not possible to look at that trade from the hockey side of things and not see it was a total rip off in favor of the Sharks.

Well, unless the hockey side of things includes, like, the standings.

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, Yukon on 02/12/10 at 04:15 PM ET

Well, unless the hockey side of things includes, like, the standings.

So, because they’re doing well as a team and getting goaltending nobody thought they’d get from the likes of Brian Elliot and Pascal Leclaire, both of whom had NOTHING to do with the Heatley trade, they’ve won the Heatley trade?

What about the fact that San Jose are 15 points ahead of Ottawa?  Does that mean San Jose won?

And if San Jose wins the Cup, does that mean they won the Jody Shelley trade?

How can you possibly think that San Jose didn’t win the trade when Dany Heatley is in the top ten in points and Ottawa has WAIVED a major piece of the trade for them, while they’re still going to have to pay him this year AND next year?  Are you OUT of your MIND?!?

Posted by Garth on 02/12/10 at 04:28 PM ET

LOL, people who think ottawa won the heatley trade are dillusional at best Just because ottawa is doing ok now has nothing to do with the trade.  Did u guys think they won the trade when they went on that 10 game losing streak?  Facts are, Heatley has more then double michaleks points (66 vs30), and the sharks got rid of that garbage contract they gave to cheechoo as well.  Heatley is 9th in the league in scoring, while the amount of scoring they got from michalek and cheechoo they could have easily got from the free agent market instead.

Posted by Luongo-is-my-hero on 02/12/10 at 04:43 PM ET

@Garth: If you actually read my words Garth, you’ll notice that nowhere did I say definitively that one side ‘won’ the trade. I only took issue with the commenter who said that it’s “not possible” to look at the trade from a hockey perspective and “not see that it was a total rip off in favor of the Sharks”.

Next time, read. Don’t infer. I say what I mean, not what Garth from the internet takes it to mean.

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, Yukon on 02/12/10 at 04:46 PM ET

Just for the record, since some people are reading a lot more into my words than I’m actually writing, I think in a situation like Ottawa was in last summer, it’s impossible to declare a winner and a loser in a deal like that. If it was bizarro world where Dany Heatley was happy with the Senators and Cory Clouston got along great with him, then no, it absolutely wouldn’t make sense to deal him to the Sharks for what they did.

But this isn’t bizarro world, and Heatley backed Bryan Murray into a corner.

Both teams are probably better for it. But I also think that after the playoffs (and maybe even after a few seasons! But I know most of you jokers can’t wait that long!) would be a better time to judge any trade.

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, Yukon on 02/12/10 at 04:55 PM ET

Ottawa had no chance of winning the Heatley trade, and very few people - if any - thought that Cheechoo would return to Rocket Richard form due to geographical change. Neither facts were surprising then, and certainly not surprising now. Using the waivering of Cheechoo to evaluate the trade now is missing the boat by several months.

But as mentioned by Josh, both teams are probably satisfied with the season so far.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 02/12/10 at 05:45 PM ET

I don’t want Heatley back and am not embarrassed saying I would rather have the younger, faster, stronger two-way Michalek than Heatley.

Do you hear ANYONE from Ottawa saying that the senators would be better if they had Heatley back?  Be honest - everyone sees them as a better team, playing a Clouston system they could not have played as with Heatley compared to Michalek.

Also, did I really just see sometime reference the 10-game losing streak as proof the sens lost the trade?  Wasn’t Michalek (and most of our starting lineup) injured at the time?

If that’s losing the trade, let’s lose some more! 

By the way, I think San Jose is loaded with talent, just like the were last year.  Marleau better carry Thornton and Heatley in the playoffs or you won’t get a chance to meet the sens.

Posted by Steve from Ottawa on 02/12/10 at 06:09 PM ET

I referenced the 10 game losing streak, because where were all of you guys during that time when ottawa was in a black hole.  Just cause you guys are doing better now, does not mean that you won the trade is what i am trying to say.  Ottawa should have gotten a lot more for a proven multiple 50 goal scorer in heatley, and it definitely shows with the way heatley is playing this year.  If u want to take something into perspective, why don’t u notice that heatley has more than double the points of Michalek, and notice that, a talent like michalek and cheechoo can easily be replaced during free agency, while a talent like heatley is much harder.  If anything, Ottawa should have tried to drop heatley for some draft picks and prospects, and then used that extra cap space to sign some free agents instead.  Not like its hard to find a guy to replace cheechoo or michalek.  The funny thing is that sanjose got rid of a garbage contract as well.
  Maybe u can trade spezza for redden and aaron voros next

Posted by Luongo-is-my-hero on 02/12/10 at 06:33 PM ET

Are you thinking of Tootoo?

Cheechoo & Tootoo, sort of like Vishnevski &  Visnovsky.

Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 02/12/10 at 06:57 PM ET

Next time, read. Don’t infer. I say what I mean, not what Garth from the internet takes it to mean.

Yes.  I know EXACTLY what you said, and responded in kind.

Whether Ottawa is happy to have Heatley gone or not is 100% irrelevant.  Less than a season after the trade they’re unhappy enough with a big part of the deal that they’ve waived him.  They’re willing to pay him for another season to NOT PLAY ON THE TEAM.

How is there any way to view that as anything but a colossal loss?

End of story.

Posted by Garth on 02/12/10 at 08:10 PM ET

Heatley had to go. Wasn’t a matter of ‘winning’ the deal, it was a matter of getting the team back on track by dealing with a major distraction. Since Heatley would only go to certain teams, Murray made the best deal available and was forced to take on a bad contract to make the deal possible.

I don’t think there’s a fan in Ottawa that doesn’t understand that taking on Cheechoo’s contract had more to do with making the deal possible than getting value in return. Michalek has been good, and Ottawa is a deeper team than it’s been in years. So much so, that the management and ownership clearly believes that we’re in a position to compete sooner than later - and Melnyk gave the green light to putting Cheechoo’s big contract in the minors so we have the cap space to make things even better.

Cheechoo played with a lot of heart, and I think he got a lot of folks here on his side with his effort - but this is the best hockey move for the team.

Posted by Da lil Guy from Ottawa on 02/13/10 at 12:31 AM ET

you’ll notice that nowhere did I say definitively that one side ‘won’ the trade. I only took issue with the commenter who said that it’s “not possible” to look at the trade from a hockey perspective and “not see that it was a total rip off in favor of the Sharks”.

And, as we’ve seen, it was.  Cheechoo’s been a big fat zero, Michalek’s been okay, but far from even close to approximating what Heatley was doing, and the 2nd rounder has about twice as good of a chance at never turning into an NHL player as being a successful pick.

Is Ottawa doing well this year?  Sure.  Obviously.

But, come on.  They got hosed in the Heatley trade.  They had to get hosed, we knew they were getting hosed at the time, and Heatley’s behavior almost guaranteed Maximum Hosure (tm), but at least be intellectually honest enough to admit it happened.

When one team gives up a legit All-Star level top line forward and gets back in return a guy who gets waived the subsequent year, a borderline top line forward, and a 2nd… they lost the trade.

Don Waddell makes moves like that about every two or three years and nobody has any problem pointing out he’s an idiot.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 02/13/10 at 07:19 AM ET

“If anything, Ottawa should have tried to drop heatley for some draft picks and prospects, and then used that extra cap space to sign some free agents instead”

Hey, is there anyone out there that has 8 million in cap space for a disgruntled non-team player whose numbers have been declining and who is signed for many years?  He will only play in certain systems, so all you defensively responsible teams and trap teams please don’t bother.  Oh, and he is not a breakaway type of player, so he needs to be sandwiched between two elite passers.

I know some GMs have already spoke out that this is not the kind of player they want on their team, that this would make them worse off in the long run with that huge contract and projected declining numbers, but they are idiots - look at all of his goals and points, which are the only things that influence winning! 

We would like draft picks in return.  I know you will then have to trade hard-working, non-disgruntled players off your roster to make cap space, but I am sure there will stil be lots of takers.  We don’t want extremely fast, big, young, strong scorers like Michalek, because there are 10 of them available through free agency every year.

Posted by Steve from Ottawa on 02/13/10 at 11:45 AM ET