Gone Puck Wild
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Minnesota Wild: Franchise 5 Best Trades of All-Time

By Cody Defoe

ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 15: A general view of Xcel Energy Center before game 3 of a round one Stanley Cup Playoff matchup between the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets on April 15, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. The Wild defeated the Jets 6-2. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 15: A general view of Xcel Energy Center before game 3 of a round one Stanley Cup Playoff matchup between the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets on April 15, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. The Wild defeated the Jets 6-2. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Wild
DETROIT, MI – MARCH 23: Dany Heatley #15 of the Minnesota Wild gets set for the face-off against the Detroit Red Wings during an NHL game on March 23, 2014 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Minnesota defeated Detroit 4-3 in OT (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images) /

#5 Minnesota Wild Receive Dany Heatley

In July 2011, the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks were fresh off of a blockbuster trade at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (in St.Paul, MN) and unlikely trading partners to make a follow-up trade only 10 days later.

Despite this, then Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher and Sharks GM Doug Wilson kept the phone lines open and found another deal to be made after the Free Agency period had opened.

This trade involved the Minnesota Wild receiving the aging veteran forward, Dany Heatley, in return for another aging veteran forward in Martin Havlat in a player for player deal, with no other incentives added for either side.

Dany Heatley was coming off of career lows in Goals and Points, failing to reach 30 goals over an entire season for the first time since his rookie season. Meanwhile, Havlat had just completed a resurgent season, playing in more than 75 games and scoring more than 60 points for only the 3rd time in his career.

Chuck Fletcher took a gamble on this trade, seemingly believing that Havlat’s resurgence would be a career high point and maximizing his value while he had the chance. Dany Heatley was a gamble in return, however, as he had been on the backside of a fantastic career and aging poorly.

I consider this trade to be a win for Minnesota, entirely based on each player’s production after the trade.

Martin Havlat would struggle with injury for the remainder of his career, never playing more than 48 games in a season, while Heatley provided 3 solid years with Minnesota before fading off into retirement.

In 3 seasons with the Wild, Heatley would provide 47 goals and 102 points through 194 games played, adding 6 points in 11 games during the 2014 playoffs. Havlat would play the same 3 seasons with the San Jose Sharks, providing only 67 points in only 127 games played and 3 points in 8 playoff games before leaving San Jose.

I would say, in terms of overall value, the Minnesota Wild won this one. Heatley wasn’t huge for the team during his time in the State of Hockey, but he did provide a lot of value. Credit to Chuck Fletcher for making a smart move to send Havlat out of town at the peak of his production.

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