Heatley's Wish is Granted: Senator is Now a Shark

Dany Heatley finally got a deal he was willing to accept.  It was announced this morning, shortly after he showed up at Senators' Training Camp, that the former two-time 50 goal scorer has been traded, along with a 2010 fifth round pick to the San Jose Sharks for Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek and a 2010 second round pick. 

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Heatley requested a trade from the Ottawa Senators. A deal was in place to send Heatley to the Edmonton Oilers on June 30, but Heatley refused to waive his no trade clause.

Heatley will join the reigning Presidents trophy winners from last season.  Heatley will be joining one of the premier playmakers in the game, Joe Thornton and the Sharks will be banking on Heatley returning to his 50 goal form of three seasons ago.

Heatley is a 28 year-old native of Calgary, Alberta.  He is entering his eighth NHL season and the former Calder Trophy and NHL All-Star game MVP, will looking for a brand new start with the Sharks.  During his career, Heatley has appeared in 507 games, scoring 260 goals and tallying 283 assists.

The Senators will be hoping that Cheechoo can return to his 50 goal performance of four seasons ago.  The 29-year-old native of Moose Factory, Ontario, is entering his seventh NHL season.  During his career, Cheechoo has appeared in 440 games, scoring 165 goals and tallying 126 assists.

Michalek is a 24-year-old native of Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic.  He is entering his fifth full NHL season.  During his career, Michalek has appeared in 317 games, scoring 91 goals and tallying 123 assists.

With this move, the Sharks only have 21 players on their roster for the up-coming season.  The Sharks’ salary cap is currently sitting at $57.4 million but when you take the bonus off of that amount, the Sharks only have approximately $690,000 in cap space available.

The Senators on the other hand now have 23 players on their roster and depending on a couple of roster decisions for head coach Cory Coulston, the Senators’ salary cap is approximately $55.9 million.  The Senators have approximately $1.4 million in cap space still available.