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Meet Dany (Through The Eyes Of A Sens Fan)
by Mike Chen on 09/14/09 at 11:07 AM ET
Comments (4)
In the aftermath of the ginormous Senators/Sharks trade, Andrew the SENSHobo and I asked each other what we thought of our now ex-players. I spoke rather glowingly of Jonathan Cheechoo and cautiously optimistic of Milan Michalek. What does a Senators fan think of Dany Heatley? Well, there’s a lot less vitriol than you’d think. Unfortunately for Sharks fans, the whole notion that Heatley doesn’t backcheck or hustle…well…this only adds more weight to that idea. And it’s probably the main reason why I’m not totally sold on this deal yet.
Meet Dany Heatley: he’s got a touch and sense that few can match; post-lockout, Heatley (180) has only been outscored by Kovalchuk (189) and Ovechkin (219). A great center can find the open man with the gaping net when it’s least expected; Heatley will find the tiniest holes in the most focused goaltenders. Give him space or a clear path to the net, and you’ll see the focus in his eyes, making any goalie question themselves as he sees the holes open up and close. He can find his way to the holes, the unwatched patches of ice, and one-time the puck when you’d least expect it, or even pull them out of nowhere himself, snaking from high up the boards with the puck right into the slot. He has it in him to pull it off no matter who’s feeding him (see a few years back when Ottawa’s top three centers in Spezza, Fisher, and Vermette were all injured and Kelly, 12-11—23 this season, was feeding him), but can certainly handle the likes of Thornton and Marleau.
But then there’s the other side of Heatley. When he’s desperate, you’ll see him, stick waiting to poke out an eye, completely covered. At 6’4, 221lbs, you’ll be lucky to get a hit a game out of him, and he’ll block a shot once in a blue moon, swearing it was an accident. He spoke of wanting to have a team depend more on him than Ottawa where the leadership, scoring, and extra-effort departments are filled adamantly by Alfredsson, Spezza, Fisher, Phillips, and Volchenkov, but what to think when his first choice wound up being a team with even more skill, character, and hard workers? He had problems with Clouston’s demands for extra effort even when he claimed a year ago that he wanted to be more than just a gun; McLellan’s Detroit-raised style doesn’t seem like the natural fit. Ovechkin, Kovalchuck, Nash; they are great wingers because they can do it all with the puck; pray that Thornton and Heatley don’t become attached at the hip as he and Spezza were, because for all the talent of Heatley, he can become a dependent counterpart, making the cord easy to pick apart. When he dominated his first All-Star game, “He is only going to good things for our league,” fellow all-star Jeremy Roenick marvelled on national television. “He’s a better person than he is hockey player.” With all his baggage and 180s, it’s high time he shows what he’s really got behind blue eyes.
Filed in: San Jose Sharks | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Dany+Heatley,
Comments
Remember he’s a convicted murderer like Teddy K….nice aquisition. Sharks will continue to choke guaranteed.
Posted by kevin from boston on 09/14/09 at 11:45 AM ET
I think this deal with work for both teams. Sens add 2, well 1 good forward ( I think Cheechoo is done ) with a lot of potential. The Sharks are adding a proven goal scorer who might be playing with the best passer in the game. Heatley scores goals, period. Everyone knows this, it’s the way he has always been. Anything extra you get on the ice is a bonus. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, but it is… I expect big things from the Sharks.
Posted by WingMan from Qc on 09/14/09 at 12:42 PM ET
Heatley scores goals, period.
This is his biggest strength and weakness. The value of goal scoring is obvious—no argument there. But with a salary cap and always-improving talent level in the NHL, the game demands star players have the ability to do everything. You can’t pay a guy $7 million a year if he’s only going to play 12 minutes, four of which will be on the power play. That money is for horses that anchor a line, play 16 - 20 minutes per night, including significant PK and PP minutes, and can match up against the oppositions best line both offensively and defensively.
Heatley is strong and has good size. He’s not “fast” but he’s got plenty of jump in his skates. He’s clearly got a natural hockey sense most players can only dream of having. And he’s got hands unlike all but maybe five or six players in the world.
I don’t think the Sharks can win a Cup with him doing what he did in Ottawa. Now, if he gets his head straight, and goes all hands on deck with his teammates, buys into the system and the demands of McLellan, that team is easily the best team in hockey, on paper. And Heatley might well do that. But his past actions lead you to believe that he will not. He’ll just wait for those passes from Jumbo Joe and pot his 50. He won’t PK, he won’t backcheck, he won’t be a physical presence in the tough areas on the ice… not a winning combination.
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 09/14/09 at 01:54 PM ET
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Can’t agree more… on talent (and even on cap ramifications), this deal is a steal for the Sharks. But with the intangibles us sports nerds always like to talk about, this could end up a steal in the opposite direction.
Basically, I think it’s all up in the air, and only time will tell. It’s as simple as this, in my book—if the Sharks win a Cup while Heatley is wearing the teal, then it has to be a steal in favor of San Jose, regardless of what Michalek and Cheechoo do in Ottawa. But if they can’t close the deal with Heatley, you have to say Ottawa was right to get out from under the burden of Dany Heatley’s bizarre personality “quirks” (to put it nicely), even if Michalek and Cheechoo are just average.
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 09/14/09 at 11:34 AM ET