Dany Heatley to San Jose: Dispelling the Rumors

This announcement shut the door on what has been one of the messiest stories of the offseason.

Two days after Tambellini's announcement, reports out of San José said the Sharks made an offer for Heatley that had been denied, and that a deal between the Sharks and the Montreal Canadiens could happen to facilitate the acquisition of Dany Heatley.

This report led to a tidal wave of speculation across the Internet.

The reason why Bryan Murray turned down this offer was that he wanted a proven, scoring winger, and while some may argue that Cheechoo fits that bill, this element was simply absent in Shark's GM Doug Wilson's proposal. 

How could the Sharks obtain a proven scoring winger from the Canadiens?

First, we have to take a look at the wingers that Les Glorieux have.

Here's the list: Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn, Matt D'Agostini, Travis Moen, Guillaume Latendresse, Max Pacioretty, and Gregory Stewart.

If the Sens were looking to acquire an up-and-coming scoring winger, then this deal would have already taken place.

But the fact of the matter is that beyond Gionta and Cammalleri, whom were both recently inked to massive contracts, the Habs simply don't have any proven, scoring, wingers.

Some could argue that Andrei Kostitsyn is on the verge of a breakout year, but it would be tough to imagine Gainey dealing him for Erhoff or Cheechoo.

It could also be argued that D'Agostini is well on his way to becoming a solid goal-scorer in the NHL after exploding onto the scene with four goals in his first five games after being called up from Hamilton. But again, this doesn't fit into what the Sens are looking for.

The Canadiens will not be involved in the Heatley deal because not only would they be taking a step back if they did, but in reality there is nothing that they can do.