HEATLEY FOR HOSSA & de VRIES
The Ottawa Senators acquired right wing Dany Heatley from the Atlanta Thrashers for right wing Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries.
What does it give the Ottawa Senators
The biggest blockbuster of the salary-cap era (for now) is a true stunner, as the Sens and Thrash get together to swap premier right-wingers. In Heatley, the Sens add a tremendously gifted scorer who has endured trouble and tragedy on and off the ice. He needed a change of scenery, so he should be close to past form on the loaded Sens. A natural right wing, Heatley could switch to the left side to accomodate team needs. By moving de Vries, the Sens free up invaluable cap space--making this deal a win-win situation.
What does it give the Atlanta Thrashers
Hossa is a more proven scorer at this stage of his career, and should do well alongside Ilya Kovalchuk in Atlanta. De vries will add more depth to the Thrashers blueline corps, but is grossly overpaid in a salary-cap world. Essentially, the Thrashers felt compelled to move Heatley and decided to accept de Vries in order to land a comparable talent in Hossa. The move is a safe one for Atlanta, but it may backfire if Heatley rediscovers past form.
Fantasy impact
