Dany Heatley



Dany Heatley (born Daniel James Heatley on January 21, 1981) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Dany won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top NHL rookie in 2002.

However, after being responsible for a car accident in September of 2003 that killed his teammate and close friend Dan Snyder, Dany requested a trade and was subsequently dealt to the Ottawa Senators.

One of the Senators' perennial leading scorers during his tenure with Ottawa, Dany set franchise records for single-season goals (50), which he achieved in back to back seasons in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, and points (105), during the 2006-2007 season.

Dany played on the left wing with line mates Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. The line was consistently among the highest scoring in the NHL after its formation in the 2005-2006 season, with the trio combining for a total of 296 points that season.

Dany has represented Team Canada in six World Championships, two Olympics and one World Cup of Hockey, as well as two World Junior Championships. In 2008, he surpassed Marcel Dionne as Canada's all-time leader in goals and Steve Yzerman as the all-time leader in points for the World Championships.

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Dany demanded a trade from the Senators. A deal was in place to send him to the Edmonton Oilers on June 30, but he refused to waive his no-trade clause.

On September 12, Dany was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in return for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round draft pick in 2010.

After playing two seasons in San Jose, Dany was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Martin Havlat.

Amateur Hockey Career
Playing minor hockey in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) for the Calgary Buffaloes, Dany tallied 91 points in 36 games in 1997–98 to earn the Harry Allen Memorial Trophy as the league's top scorer.

Dany went on to lead the Buffaloes to the bronze medal at the 1998 Air Canada Cup, where he finished as both Top Scorer and Tournament MVP.

As Heatley chose to play college hockey in the United States, Dany joined the Junior A ranks in 1998–99 with the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) to maintain his NCAA-eligibility (as opposed to playing major junior). Recording 70 goals and 126 points in 60 games, he was named AJHL and Canadian Junior A Player of the Year.

The following season, Dany began his two-year tenure with the University of Wisconsin Badgers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). As a freshman, he was named to the WCHA First All-Star Team and NCAA West Second All-American Team, in addition to earning WCHA Rookie of the Year honours.

In the off-season, Dany was drafted second overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, behind goaltender Rick DiPietro.

After his sophomore year, in which he was named to the 2001 WCHA Second All-Star and NCAA West First All-American Teams, Heatley chose to forgo his final two years of college eligibility to turn pro with the Thrashers.

Atlanta Thrashers (2001–2005)
Dany made his NHL debut with the Thrashers in 2001–02, leading all rookies in points (67) and assists (41) and was second in goal-scoring (26) behind teammate Ilya Kovalchuk. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year, for which Kovalchuk was also nominated.

In the 2002–03 season, Dany emerged as an NHL superstar. Finishing ninth in overall league scoring, he tallied 41 goals and 89 points in 77 games, his best statistical season with the Thrashers.

On September 29, 2003, Dany was seriously injured after he lost control of the Ferrari 360 Modena he was driving. The car struck a wall, splitting the car in half and ejecting him and his passenger teammate Dan Snyder.

Dany suffered a broken jaw, a minor concussion, a bruised lung, and a bruised kidney, and he tore three ligaments in his right knee. Snyder was critically injured with a skull fracture, and died six days later, on October 5, 2003 of sepsis.

Dany was charged with vehicular homicide; he pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane, and speeding. He admitted to drinking prior to the incident, but his blood-alcohol content was below the legal limit.

Dany was sentenced to three years probation, and the judge Rowland W. Barnes, required the court to approve his vehicle, which could not have more than six cylinders and would not surpass 70 mph (112 km/h). He avoided having to go to trial as part of a plea deal that dropped the first-degree charge of vehicular homicide.

Because of injuries he suffered from the car accident, Dany's season did not start until January 2004 and he appeared in only 31 games. A disappointing season ended with an early elimination in the race for a playoff spot and 25 points.

During the last part of the season, the Thrashers and the Atlanta community, including Snyder's family, were largely supportive of Dany, including telling the Atlanta prosecutors and the judge that nothing would be gained by imprisoning him.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Dany initially played for the Swiss team SC Bern. He played consistently well, scoring more than a point per game until being injured in November when he required surgery for a broken orbital bone after being struck in the left eye with a puck.

The pupil in Dany's left eye became permanently dilated as a result. He finished the year with the All-Star laden AK Bars Kazan in the Russian Superleague, joining Thrashers teammate and friend Ilya Kovalchuk, among others, but had an unimpressive stint.

Ottawa Senators (2005–2009)
Prior to the end of the lockout, Dany asked to be traded from Atlanta in hopes of leaving reminders of the tragic accident behind.

This was unpopular with Atlanta fans, particularly as Snyder's father Graham noted that Dany owed much to the Thrashers' organization that had particularly been extremely supportive of him during his trial and ordeal.

On August 23, 2005, the Thrashers sent Dany to the Ottawa Senators for Slovak star Marian Hossa and veteran defenceman Greg de Vries. A restricted free agent at the time of the trade, he immediately signed a 3-year, $13.5 million contract with the Senators.

In his first game for the Senators, against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 5, 2005, Dany played with Jason Spezza and Brandon Bochenski, but when the Senators were down with five minutes to go Daniel Alfredsson, who replaced Bochenski, scored the tying goal.

As 2005–06 was the first year that the NHL implemented the shootout, Dany became the second player to score in an NHL shootout, scoring against Leafs goalie Ed Belfour after Alfredsson. Their sticks are now in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Later that month, on October 29, Dany scored 4 consecutive goals in an 8–0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, marking a career-high for goals in a game.

Dany made a spectacular start with his new team, registering points in the first 22 games of the 2005–06 NHL season, breaking Marian Hossa's previous franchise record of 13 consecutive games.

Among players with new teams, this was behind only Wayne Gretzky's 23–game streak upon joining the Los Angeles Kings during the 1988–89 NHL season.

In his first game back in Atlanta as a Senator, Dany was frequently booed, indicating that Thrashers fans felt snubbed by his previous trade request. Despite scoring, Dany and the Senators suffered a 8–3 defeat to his former Thrashers teammates.

Dany finished the 2005–06 season with 50 goals and 103 points, fourth in the league. Incidentally, his first 50-goal season also marked the first time any Senators player had achieved that mark, setting a franchise record for goals in a season (previously held by Marian Hossa, who scored 45 goals in 2002–03).

Dany's 103 points also tied Daniel Alfredsson for the team lead, together surpassing Alexei Yashin's franchise record of 94 points in a season (achieved in 1998–99).

Catalyzed by a rejuvenated offense, Ottawa finished the season with the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second best in the league. With lofty expectations for the playoffs, they were eliminated in the second round by the Buffalo Sabres. Heatley recorded 12 points in 10 games.

At the end of the season, Dany was selected, along with Alfredsson, to the Second All-Star Team. After a slow start to the 2006–07 season, Heatley recorded 50 goals once more (second in the league to Vincent Lecavalier's 52 goals) and 105 points (fourth in the league). By reaching the 50-goal plateau for the second straight season, he became the first NHL player to do so since Pavel Bure in 1999–2000.

Dany's 105 points broke the previous franchise record he shared with Alfredsson. His performance earned him a spot on the First All-Star Team. He and the Senators followed up another strong regular season going all the way to the Stanley Cup finals but finished short in 5 games against the Anaheim Ducks. The Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley line was dominant, leading the NHL in playoffs points all tied at 22.

Fresh off the heels of a Stanley Cup finals appearance, Dany began the 2007–08 season with a new 6-year contract extension with the Senators worth $45 million, signed prior to the season opener against the Maple Leafs.

Since arriving in Ottawa from the Marian Hossa trade, Dany had appeared in 208 consecutive Senators games, until suffering a separated shoulder on January 12, 2008, in a collision with Detroit Red Wings forward Dallas Drake, sidelining him for 11 games.[17] He completed the 2007–08 season with 41 goals and 41 assists for 82 points in 71 games.

In addition to Dany's injury, Ottawa was plagued with injuries to its superstars all season. Seeding seventh overall in the East, Ottawa met Pittsburgh in the playoffs, coincidentally the same first round match-up of the previous year.

However, Dany and the Senators would not make a second run for the Cup and were swept in four games. He managed just one point.

On October 3, 2008, Dany was named alternate captain to Daniel Alfredsson, along with defenceman Chris Phillips.

The 2008–09 season, however, was met with decreased production for Dany and the top line as well as an 11th place finish for the Senators in the Eastern Conference, well out of playoff contention.

Trade Request
Coming off his lowest points total since his rookie season (excluding his shortened 31-game season in 2003–04), TSN reported that Dany had filed a request for a trade on June 9, 2009, despite being only one year into his 6-year contract extension, signed in 2007.

Dany's reason behind the request was that he had become unhappy with his role in Ottawa after the season, especially after the Senators made a coaching change and brought in Cory Clouston.

Dany was also unhappy in his perceived limiting of ice time by Clouston and his move from the first power-play line to the second power-play line, all of which had been discussed in the Senators' year-end meetings.

In an interview with reporters, Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray stated that he was "shocked and disappointed" at the request. In addition, Murray stated that Clouston was hurt by Heatley's remarks. "The frustrating part for us is we have gone through several coaches here that we couldn't win enough games with," Murray stated. "We brought in a guy the results we were very happy with. The team started to look like a real team again. And then to be kind of blindsided, in his way of thinking anyway, by one of your players - not wanting to fit in. That's hard for a coach to accept."

Trading Dany was made more difficult since his contract demands approximately $7.6 million for the 2009–10 season, with few other teams having salary cap room. A deal was in place to send Heatley to the Edmonton Oilers for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid on June 30, but Dany refused to waive his no trade clause, further angering fans in Ottawa and in Edmonton.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly suggested to the Senators that they may have grounds to file a grievance, as Dany's contract stipulated the team pay a bonus (due July 1, 2009) of $4 million USD. The Edmonton trade would have spared the Senators that expense.

San Jose Sharks (2009-2011)
On September 12, 2009, Dany was traded to the San Jose Sharks, along with a fifth round pick in 2010, for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second round pick in 2010. Heatley made $8 million that year.

In the Sharks fourth game of the season, their home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dany's first game in front of the San Jose fans, he capped a hat trick with a penalty shot goal in the third period bringing his season totals to 4 goals and 5 assists (9 points) in the first four games of the season.

On November 20, 2009, Dany recorded his 2nd hat trick in as many months as he scored 3 times from passes from teammate Joe Thornton In a 6-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Sharks were eliminated in the 2010 Conference Finals. With Dany in the penalty box, the Chicago Blackhawks scored the game winning, and series-sweeping, goal. However, head coach Todd McLellan revealed that Dany had been playing the entire playoffs with a torn groin muscle.

On December 2, 2010, in his first return to Ottawa, Dany was frequently booed. The Sharks won the game 4-0, and Heatley had an assist.

In the following season, Dany put up his worst point totals for a full season in his career, registering only 26 goals and 64 points in 80 games.

After the season had concluded, it was revealed that Dany had been battling multiple injuries during the season, and especially during the playoffs.

Minnesota Wild (2011-present)
On July 3, 2011, Dany was traded to the Minnesota Wild for Martin Havlat. There he joined former teammate Devin Setoguchi who had also been traded by the Sharks to the Wild on June 24, 10 days before him.

While producing a solid season, scoring 53 points, the Wild ultimately failed to reach the playoffs despite a hot start to the year.

In the lockout-shortened 2012-13 NHL season, Dany recorded 11 goals and 10 assists in 36 games with Minnesota. However, during a game against the Sharks in April, an altercation with former teammate Marc-Edouard Vlasic dislocated Dany's left shoulder, requiring surgery that ended his season.

The 2013-14 season saw Dany's production decline dramatically, as he recorded only two goals and four points in Minnesota's first 19 games.

Approaching unrestricted free agency, speculation began that Dany's NHL career might be over and that he might move to Europe to continue his hockey career.

All-Star Games
Dany has been voted into the NHL All-Star Game five times, and played in four of them, most recently in 2009. His first appearance in the All-Star Game was in 2003 where he scored four goals, tying a single-game All-Star record (held by four other players, including Wayne Gretzky).

The game went to a shootout where Dany scored the only goal for the Eastern Conference in a 6–5 loss. The shootout goal did not, however, count towards his regulation total of four, leaving him tied for the record. He also added an assist for a game-high 5 points and was named the All-Star Game MVP.

In response to Dany's impressive performance in just his second NHL season, Eastern Conference teammate Jeremy Roenick commented, "Twenty-two years old? You're not supposed to be able to pull moves like that at 22. My goodness."

Dany's next appearance came in 2007, where he played on a line with former SC Bern teammates Daniel Briere and Marian Hossa and got a goal and two assists in a 12–9 loss to the Western Conference. He was selected for the 2008, but had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury he suffered in an earlier game against the Detroit Red Wings.

Dany was selected to his fourth All-Star Game in 2009 and scored a goal in a 12–11 Eastern Conference win in a shootout.