Marion Hossa finally got the money he wanted. Enjoy the extra 1.5M, Marion. And enjoy life at the bottom of the Southleast division.
The Senators and Atlanta Thrashers pulled off a blockbuster swap on Tuesday, as the Senators acquired sniper Dany Heatley in exchange for forward Marian Hossa and defenceman Greg de Vries. Heatley, a restricted free agent, has also agreed to a three-year, $13.5 million deal with Ottawa.
This will create some great debate because it really is tough to figure out who won out in this deal. The answer will come, oh, probably about the time the two square off at the Vancouver Olympics. So to help the debate, I present the pros and cons of what may be the biggest trade in Sens history.
Pros
- Sens get more cap room AND dump Devries’ contract
- Through the free agent frenzy, Heatley’s addition is the sizzle fans have been waiting for = excitement = season tickets…
- Team needed a shake up - I love Marion Hossa the same way I love Kevin Costner in baseball movies…at some point you go…ahhh…been there, done that
- Canadian. Sorry, PC crowd, but there IS something cool about a Canadian Olympian on your team instead of a Slovakian one. Nothing at all against Slovakians but I will never believe the Slovakian wants the Stanley cup quite as badly as the Canadian.
Cons
- Eye problems - Daniel Briere blasted a shot into Heatley’s face in Switzerland back in November. Heatley was diagnosed with a severe swelling and inner bleeding. He could not see out of the eye when he was admitted to hospital. The doctors performed drainage of the eye to relief the blood pressure on the hurt eye. Heatley also suffered a fractured orbital bone below the eye. He retured to league action in January but some say his vision still isn't right. His left pupil is extremely dilated in above photo 3 months after the accident.
- Not nearly as defensively strong as Hossa.
Bottom line is this. If I have the next pick in a hockey pool and Hossa and Heatley are both there, I take Heatley. I just like him better as a player, but not by much. The clincher is the money savings, the nationality and the breath of fresh air.
So much for the stand pat Sens. All they did was dump their top sniper, their head coach, their goalie, their beloved local product (Todd White), their finest underachiever (Radek Bonk). Then they just bring in Dominik Hasek, Bryan Murray and Dany freakin' Heatley.
Ho hum. Anything else new?
