Requested or Imposed

Minnesota Wild





Dany Heatley

First and foremost, I would like to say that I am not minimizing Dany Heatley's past. I am merely looking beyond that. We all know about the unfortunate accident that resulted in the passing of Dan Snyder. We know that Dany was responsible. And we know that Dany's career has taken a different route that anyone has expected since the accident happened. But there's more to Dany Heatley than a tragic accident. Dany Heatley was born in Germany and holds dual citizenship between Canada and Germany. Despite having been born in Germany, Dany often represents Canada in international competitions. Dany has won 4 Gold Medals, 3 Silver Medals, and 2 Bronze Medals in international competitions while representing Canada. Although Team Canada often pushes Sidney Crosby as their poster boy, Dany is the All-Time leading point and goal scorer for Team Canada.

In his nine years in the NHL, the Minnesota Wild will be Dany's fourth team. Despite having only played a few seasons with each team, Dany holds franchise records in every city he's played with. Dany holds 6 records with the Ottawa Senators, 1 record with the now moved Atlanta Thrashers, and 1 record with the San Jose Sharks. He holds the league record for most goals in an All-Star game. Heatley also holds a place in history by having scored the first game-winning shootout goal.

Dany requested a trade to get out of Atlanta in hopes of moving forward after the accident. He requested a trade to get out of Ottawa in hopes to get more of an opportunity to play. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild for Martin Havlat. My question is: Was this a trade that the GM of the San Jose Sharks came up with or did Dany request a trade yet again? I would imagine Dany wasn't too thrilled that in both of his seasons with the Sharks they advanced to the Western Conference finals and lost both years. It's quite obvious that Dany wants to win and wants to be an integral part of that win. Did he request this trade? Not that I'm aware of but it would fit the pattern. So, Will Minnesota be the place for Dany or will we hear of another request to move down the road? Only time will tell.