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Sweet Baby Jesus, It's Over! It's Finally Over! E-mail
Written by SLC   
Saturday, 12 September 2009 16:28

Our long national nightmare has come to an end, and as you would expect, the interwebs have exploded.  Sens reaction here, here, here, aaaannnd....here.  Others to follow, I'd imagine (Sherry, where the hell are you??)

On the surface, we got screwed.  Jonathan Cheechoo turned a mind boggling 53 goal 05-06 season into a fat contract extension and diminishing returns (37, 23 and 12...TWELVE! goals over the next three years) as he flirted with a reputation as an injury prone flash in the pan.  And while Michalek is a nice little addition to the second line, settling for a 2 pick rather than a first rounder, makes this one a little questionable.  But that's only on the surface.  Scratch a little deeper, and I love this trade.

Why?  Let us count the ways:

  • Cheechoo is signed through 2010-2011.  He has two years to prove to the world that he's no fluke.  He works best when he has a set up man feeding him the puck (ask Joey Thornton who rode Cheechoo's put aways to an MVP) and while Giggles does many things that make me want to throw him under a train, he's one of, if not the, best set up men in the League.  Plus, Cheech (can I call you Cheech?  Cooool man...) will go into a corner.  So there's that.

  • Our days of being a one line team are over.  Cheech -- Giggles -- Alfie, Michalek -- Fish -- AK27.  I'll take those two lines, thank you very much.

  • He's gone.  He's really gone!  Most important of all...the Doucheldorfectomy has been a success.  As much as I was ready to grit my teeth and bear his presence in the lineup, there remained the very real possibility that this season was headed for the shitter from the first puck drop.  I could easily envision, as the year wore one and no matter how many times Alfie was trotted out to assure the media hordes that "we're all professionals and we'll do what we have to do to succeed", the boil within the dressing room would only continue growing until it finally burst, covering everyone in the blood and pus of another lost, non-playoff season.  Sure, it might be painful, but The Bryan did what he needed to do, namely lance that fucker right now (I'm sure I'll have equally disturbing and tortured metaphors for you in the following days).

Which brings me to the Sharks side of the ledger, and a rather curious reaction, considering Heater's history in both Atlanta and Ottawa (courtesy of Fear the Fin):

The Dany Heatley deal solves a multitude of problems for San Jose, and makes them arguably the most dangerous team in all of hockey. For the first time this offseason, I feel like the Sharks will be better than they were last year.

Yep.  You're absolutely correct.  Right up to the point when Dany decides that he's not happy anymore.  It might come because the coach thought he wasn't working hard enough and called him out, or because he's not wearing the "C", or because the mints left on his hotel pillow are the wrong flavour...but come it will.  And then, you're toast.

Take it from me, the slide from Stanley Cup Finals to just barely making the playoffs to no playoffs at all can be a hell of a lot faster than you think. And it's not always a lack of talent that sinks you.

Enjoy your new man-child, San Jose.

 

Comments (11)Add Comment
finally...
written by Burgundy, September 12, 2009
Yup, the Heatley in San Jose experiment has certainly begun. Or will shortly. I agree with you - for the first time in awhile, the Sens are a dynamic 2 (or 2 1/2 depending who you talk to) line team with a solid top 6 forward group.

You didn't say this, but do you think Heatley will wear the C this year for the Sharks?
...
written by WRowanH, September 12, 2009
well, that was rather anticlimactic, wasn't it?

...
written by Carina, September 12, 2009
@Burgundy: I would be appalled on behalf of San Jose fans if Heatley was made captain after a summer where he has shown himself as anything but

Some say that Ottawa got fleeced, I say that San Jose just added another year of playoff flop
...
written by GelatinousMutantCoconut, September 12, 2009
@ Burgundy

I could certainly see that happening. It would be a little bit of a slap in the face to Marleau, who is a lot like Alfredsson, a quiet leader who comes to play every night but struggles when the games get BIG (Though Alfredsson has managed to improve in that area, but he was 33 or 34 when he did) losing the Captaincy to recent add-in left his former team over a demotion in power-play TOI.

However, he's made it clear he would like to be a leader, and San Jose has no captain...so like I said, it's certainly in the realm of possibility.

(I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but that has never stopped me before :p )
...
written by SLC, September 12, 2009
@ Um...everybody: Considering how the trade came about, I think McLellan would be slitting his own throat with his own team if he gave Dany the C (Marleau: "Psssst...I'm in the room").

Maybe a rotating captaincy, a-la Sabres, but Shark Nation's delirious reaction aside, I don't see this ending well for them.
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written by CharlesC, September 12, 2009
My message to each of the players involved in this trade:

Dany Heatley, suck on my scrotum.

Cheechoo, you better step it up.

You're cool Michalek.
Sharks = Rangers, Western Edition
written by Michael S, September 13, 2009
The Sharks are turning into the Rangers, which is better than the Islanders, but only just. Heatley ain't no Mark Messier.
...
written by Steve FI, September 13, 2009
Lots of sour grapes at Heatley here.
In San Jose there won't be a Don Brennan ragging him. He can easily get 40-50 and be a threat.

Cheechoo is a bust and Michalek is ok. I'm neutral on the whole deal until I see some playoff results out of these guys.
...
written by SLC, September 14, 2009
@Steve: Sour grapes? Maybe. But considering what he's put the team through, I'd have to say it's well deserved. And with Thornton feeding him, Heater will absolutely rip it up this season, of that I have no doubt...at least until April. That said, I'm still happy to make him somebody else's problem.

"Cheechoo is a bust..." I'd like to think of him as a "potential bust" if you don't mind, at least for now. It's the only thing that will keep me sane.

Thanks for the comment!
...
written by garth, September 14, 2009
HOW ABOUT THE NEW FOREVER RED CAMPAIGN? Weak! What does this mean? Fans are "seeing red" all summer? Management is "red in the face?" They support the liberal party? Is it a reference to Russia? Or Communism? what happens at the away games in Detroit? Come on is that all you can come up with? The sens fans are SO BORING and now they are returning SO MAD. Even with Heatley gone - what about losing Makalar? A great loss. The only time there is excitement or passion is when something NEGATIVE is going on - LIKE Heatley or the Leafs fans in town. The marketing team needs to come up with something fun for the fans. the leafs have tailgater parties happening already.
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written by garth, September 14, 2009
sorry i meant to say the Sens management is boring - NOT THE FANS - we love our team! give us a better experience during the games! keep us in the "know" about what's going on - there were so many secrets all summer. Mr. Makalar was a class act saying nice things about the team even though he was unfairly given the axe.

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Last Updated on Saturday, 12 September 2009 16:56
 

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