July 4 - Easy Does It

The stunning trade between Minnesota and San Jose in the first round of the draft was apparently not enough to satisfy fellow GM's Doug Wilson and Chuck Fletcher. This time the two swapped a little more than prospects and draft picks. The Sharks Dany Heatley was sent to the Wild for Martin Havlat, and fireworks began to fly early on this 4th of July. These former teammates could never have predicted this moment in time, but each will have to deal with its reality. Heatley leaves a beleaguered Sharks squad that has been so close but yet so far from a shot at Lord Stanley's Cup, while Havlat joyfully joins teammate Brent Burns for a chance to help the same Sharks reach that coveted peak. Whatever may come of their respective future's, one must pause and take in this interesting news.

Heatley, who at one point in the not so distant past was a contender for the Rocket Richard Trophy, heads north after a relatively disappointing year in San Jose. In the 2010 - 2011 season, Heatley scored only 26 goals and 64 points, but it was his lackluster performance in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs that turned out to be the real let down. In 18 playoff games, he managed a measly 3 goals, 9 total points and had a -2 rating. However, he is still a scoring threat, and now he has something to prove. Watch out for this guy to fit in pretty well and to make a resurgent effort in the 2011 - 2012 season. He may not carry the Wild into the playoffs, but he'll definitely have people tuning in to watch; especially with the help of teammate Devin Setoguchi.

Havlat, on the other hand, hasn't seen the post season since the "lights out hit" he suffered at the hands of Detroit's Niklas Kronwall. Minnesota's inability to make the playoffs has not been his fault, as he has averaged 20 goals and 58 points over the past couple of years. The Wild just didn't have the pieces they needed to make a real push. The Sharks have the pieces, and now they've offloaded a little drama as well. But, this paragraph is supposed to be about Havlat. Well, there's his breakout speed to talk about as NHL.com quoted GM Doug Wilson, "This is a guy when you are looking at high-end speed breakaway players that like to play in big moments, Marty is at top of that list." On top of this, Havlat comes at a $2.5 million discount per year. Expect Havlat to more than make up for the loss of Setoguchi, and to add a jolt of excitement and optimism to the locker room.

With this trade being completed late Sunday night, the 2011 offseason continued to entertain us as we await the return of hockey in North America. There's sure to be more free agency signings, but as this deal showed, it seems the trading between teams in a scramble to meet cap requirements may prove to be most entertaining. I for one am definitely paying attention!

For the most updated look at UFA signings and RFA re-signings visit CapGeek.