Just when you thought it was over...
I know I will regret this, but, from Eklund
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
BIG TRADE COMING: HOSSA + FOR HEATLEY
From a Good Source (E4-5) This trade is all but announced...
Hossa and a top four defenseman (could be Phillips, may not be) from the Sens to Atlanta for Heatley...
More coming...
UPDATE: The rumor has been juiced up. In addition to Heatley, a first round pick has been thrown in the mix by Gord Wilson on The Team 1200's "Afternoon Drive" show.
I know we all hate the baseless world that is Eklund, but I'm keeping my eyes on this one.
Thank god for days off work...
UPDATE 2: The Atlanta Thrashers have announced they will be holding a 5:30PM press conference, where it's expected they will make this official.
It's looking like Greg de Vries is the defenceman, but Chris Phillips' name is still out there, according to the boys on The Team 1200.
posted by CMcMurtry @ 2:58 PM
30 comments
30 Comments:
That would be the absolute best case scenario....BY FAR. Hope Eklund is closer to the truth on this than he usually is...lol
It sort of makes sense, that's why they agreed to sign hossa for so much all of a sudden. Hope the defence is Devries and not philipps. If this happens, i'm buying a heatley jersey
Funny that the Sens website doesn't have anything about the Hossa signing.
If it is Heatly and a first round pick expect Redden to be included with Hossa in that deal. I think most people would consider Heatley better than Hossa, or at least with more upside at this point in their careers.
I don't think Heatley is considered better than Hossa by most people, but that's subjective. He's younger, but because he still hasn't played a full NHL season since the accident, there are also questions about what Dany Heatley you're getting: the phenom who won rookie of the year or something less?
With Hossa, for better or worse, you know what you're going to get, and not get.
Rumors of Heatley wanting out of Atlanta have been bubbling below the surface for a few months, so it may be a case of teams trading perceived headaches.
Also, it is still Eklund, so we have to take all this with a soup spoon of salt.
As far as the defenceman, if it's Phillips, I'm not as big a fan of the deal as I would be if it was a straight swap of the two big players.
I've become a huge fan of Phillips over the last couple years, and thought his game improved vastly during the last NHL season and especially in the first round series against the Leafs. Though it didn't amount to much, because they lost, I felt like he was their best d-man night in and night out in the series.
Of course, he's also a UFA in two years, so maybe they're looking towards that.
In just Heatley's 2nd season in the NHL he had 89 points in 77 games. Hossa's best season is 82 points in 81 games. This why I think most people think Heatley has the greater upside. Personally I think Heatley has the potential to be a guy that can carry a team on his back and make everyone around him play much better. While Hossa is a great player, I think he has shown that he is not that kind of player. Hossa doesn't strike fear in opposing teams like I think Heatley could.
Yet again, I say Eklund pulled one out of his ass.
You're telling me Don Waddell in Atlanta is unwilling to lock up Heatley and Kovalchuk for 5 mil each, but he's mysteriously eager to dump Heatley, pay more than 5 to Hossa and then add a further 2-million to his payroll for Phillips? For a team that's among the league's worst in gate receipts?
Don't fall into the Eklund trap! :)
That said, if I'm Muckler I make that trade in a second. I have a chance to keep all three of Redden, Chara and Heatley that way.
Even though it's been very trendy to talk down Hossa here in Ottawa over the last month, I have to disagree about Hossa not striking fear to a large degree.
Talk to fans of the Leafs (logical ones), Flyers, Habs, etc. He's the forward they're most scared of on the team. Not scared in the physical sense, but because he will score and score often. Usually making plays himself.
It's also become cool to say Hossa has been poor in the playoffs. While it's true he hasn't led his team as far as Iginla did, thus making that comparison somewhat misguided, he has played especially well the last two years, I've thought.
The common thing you'll hear about Hossa is that he doesn't want to win (because he's a smelly Euro, see). I seem to recall Hossa diving to the net, getting crotched by the goal post, in the last minutes of Game 7 against New Jersey in the '03 EC finals.
It's easy to say a European doesn't care, and there are plenty of examples of it, but I'm not sure it applies to Marian Hossa. Not anymore, anyway.
Heatley probably has the potential to be better, but, again, post-accident, what Dany Heatley is it.
I didn't see a lot of Thrashers games last year so I'd be more than happy to hear from people who did as far as how he played (beyond the numbers) when he came back. I remember him being good in the World Cup (on a third/fourth line though) and really good in the Worlds this past spring.
well, it's on tsn.ca now...i'm a believer
Pete,
I know, I know. This will come back to haunt me.
But, I had to.
This is absolutely the best thing to happen to the sens so far in this news filled off season...i thought a Hossa trade would come but not so soon.
I am a Leaf fan and I am not scared of Hossa. Yes, he can put the puck in the net but I am not scare of him because I have never seen him consistantly take control of the game and carry his team, especially come playoff time. As a Leaf fan I fear Chara more because he can play 30 minutes a game shut down a team. Senator fans feared Gary Roberts because he has carried the Leafs to playoff wins over the Sens. I fear Brodeur in New Jersey because he can win a game, or a whole playoff series on his own. Same goes for Yzerman a few years ago. And Gretzky. And Lemieux. And Iginla. Hossa doesn't strike the fear that those guys do.
Just when I land a job with the Thrashers they trade away one of the guys I was excited to see. Nuts. It better be Philips or Redden (I wish) thrown in.
This deal, if it is indeed coming to pass, will put Atlanta into the playoff chase in a big way because the Thrashers need defence. A fresh start in a fresh city could be just what Heatley needs... even though I don't think the deal helps the Sens as much as it does Atlanta. Ottawa had had the best 1-6 defence corps in the East, IMHO. If either Redden or Phillips goes, that's no longer the case.
Bob,
In the last hour or so, it's been pretty much confirmed that it's not Phillips, Redden, or Chara, so you could put two and two together and determine Greg de Vries' days as a Senator are over.
It's Phillips.
Damn you James.
Heatley had 25 points in 31 games with the Thrashers after coming back from potentially career-ending injuries. Why are people talking as if he needs a fresh start or change of venue? He was better than expected after missing that much time and there's no reason to think of him as damaged goods. Atlanta just got a whole lot better but Ottawa got more entertaining. Spezza and Heatley? They'll tear things up! Sens fans ought to be dancing for joy.
phillips
It's Phillips.
You heard it here first - er - second.
:)
How do you like it now?
Not so much.
Oh-no! Phillips is just starting to step it up.
If they can sign the big 2 as a result I'll swallow the bitter medicine.
And I'm ultra-pumped about getting Heatley!
eep!
both wrong. It's De Vries!
any other names we want to make up?
My apologies for the heart attack Chris. Obviously my sources here were wrong (although Atlanta desperately wanted Phillips).
Sounds like Heatley asked for the trade and likely wouldn't have signed so under the circumstances Atl did alright. Eating that de Vries contract is going to hurt though.
You Toronto people want nothing less than the demise of the Senators, admit it!
Heh, don't go calling me a Toronto people. I'm from B.C.
Sources from two papers were saying Phillips.
Chris, I'm a Toronto person technically and even though I am terrified of it being Phillips, I am gloating that we even get to talk about who's better on the Sens, Dany Heatley or Marian Hossa.
This is really surreal. Remember Hossa's goal in the '03 playoffs, when he skated circles around Cechmanek and held the puck for a good minute?
Why do I get the feeling Waddell has another trade planned?
Huge win for the Sens.
I would say that there is a saw-off in skills right now between Heatley and Hossa, but I think that Heatley's on the way up and as was said above you know what you are getting with Hossa and I think that he will at best plateau, if not lose interest and fade.
Heatley's health after the car injury may be a bit of a wild card, but he looked strong in the second half of '03-04. As well he looked pretty good in the Team Canada camp.
De Vries was OK but nothing special and by shedding $2.25mm with him, and saving some money with Hossa, there should be enough dough to spread around to keep the others happy.
Without the deal, Redden would have been gone and probably for a bucket of pucks because of caps problems. The Sens are far ahead with Heatley/Redden than with Hossa/deVries. In fact I think that with the changes it could finally be the breakout year for the Sens. They certainly won't have the Leafs to worry about - but that's another rant.
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