Do the Sens win a cup from 05-08 with Hossa instead of Heatley?

illpucks

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May 26, 2011
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It was seen as a 1/1 trade but Hossa ended up a 3 time cup champ and future HHOF player while Heatley cooled down quick and was criticized for his attitude. In fact his trade request ended the SC era for the Sens. So how would they have fared if they kept Hossa instead of trading for Heatley?
 

GMR

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Jul 27, 2013
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No.

In 2006, they're not winning a Cup with Emery as their goalie. The Hasek injury screwed everything up that season. Otherwise, I think that was their best chance.

In 2007, they weren't as good as Detroit or Anaheim. And they had Emery as their goalie.


Hossa had some good playoff runs, but it's not like he was putting up Conn Smythe numbers. He won three Cups and played in five Finals because he played for some great teams where he was never the most important player. You're overvaluing his ability to take Ottawa to the next level.
 

barbu

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Heatley had the better seasons over this period. As for the playoffs they were both underwhelming. I don't think anything would have changed.
 

trentmccleary

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It was seen as a 1/1 trade but Hossa ended up a 3 time cup champ and future HHOF player while Heatley cooled down quick and was criticized for his attitude. In fact his trade request ended the SC era for the Sens. So how would they have fared if they kept Hossa instead of trading for Heatley?

No single player was going to overcome how terrible the goaltending was in the 2006 playoffs or the 2007-08 season. But Hossa was noticeably better than Heatley and that could have slightly improved their outcomes.
 

illpucks

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Bad Karma also. Sens sign Hossa to avoid arbitration, and then immediately deal him. Poor dude thought he was securing his future on the Sens roster.
 

vadim sharifijanov

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if hossa isn’t backstabbed maybe chara would have found a way to make his and redden’s salaries work. then everything is different.
 

illpucks

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if hossa isn’t backstabbed maybe chara would have found a way to make his and redden’s salaries work. then everything is different.
Very interesting. Didn't think of that. Chara might have not signed because of the Hossa situation.
 

robsenz

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Apr 15, 2007
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Yeah but 1 line team didn't work in playoffs especially SCF

All the games in the finals were super tight except for the last one. I feel like people overlook that aspect. But your right, offensive dried up, which isn't surprising looking at the Ducks D that year. Heatley also looked worn down by the finals, even though they had that 9 day break I believe it was.
 

TheDevilMadeMe

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If offense was the problem in 2007, I don't see how swapping Heatley for Hossa helps. That was during the brief period of time when Heatley was as good or better a scorer as Hossa ever was.
 

alko

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MadLuke

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Jan 18, 2011
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Considering how close they got, changing Heatley final:

162007-05-281626-127OTT@ANAL000-120000 10.02520:38
172007-05-301726-129OTT@ANAL000-100000 20.02519:11
182007-06-021826-132OTT ANAW000000000 0 2521:31
192007-06-041926-134OTT ANAL101101000 616.72322:24
202007-06-062026-136OTT@ANAL000-200000 0 2120:19
[TBODY] [/TBODY]



For an 100 points that would score 26 points in 20 game the next plaoff elite player like Marian Hossa, maybe do seem the only answer. The Ducks were quite the team that year to beat.
 

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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Heatley scored 50 goals in back to back seasons. I'll be honest, at that time the trade looked good for Ottawa. You do a poll in 2007, or even 2008, and we all agree Heatley is projected for a HHOF career.

But there is the two-way aspect. I never thought of Heatley as a great two-way winger. Just one way. Hossa had that one great postseason with Crosby, but I don't think that translates into much in Ottawa. Hossa at that time is not an upgrade over Heatley, and wouldn't have catapulted them.

The big thing was how on earth do you let Chara walk? Yeah I know, Redden was supposed to break out and you always waited for him to do it. But it was 2006, he was in the league a decade. Chara was better than him by now for sure even if he didn't have the best postseason that year. Why on earth not keep Chara? Havlat gone from the team didn't help after 2006 either. That is secondary scoring that the team lacked in 2007. Those two players make more of a difference than a Hossa/Heatley swap would.
 

frontsfan2005

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Mar 26, 2006
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The difference between Hossa and Heatley in this time span isn't enough of a difference that makes the Senators win the Cup. The Senators best chance for a cup would have been in 05-06, when a healthy Hasek makes a huge difference over a rookie Ray Emery.

Hossa had a cap hit of $6,000,000 in 05-06, compared to $4,500,000 for Heatley. This was the season when the salary cap was at $39,000,000, and the Senators were a cap team this season. If Hossa stays, then someone else has to go. Are the 05-06 Senators better with Hossa, or a combo of Heatley and Havlat/Smolinski (two big salaried players who were let go in 2006 and one would likely be gone if Hossa stays in Ottawa in 2005).

The 06-07 team ran into a much better Ducks team. Again, Hossa makes $1.5 million more than Heatley in this season, which has its ripple effect. Heatley was pretty dominant in the playoffs until facing Anaheim. If Chara stays (a big if, apparently a reason he wanted to leave was to be the captain of a team, which wasn't happening in Ottawa as long as Alfie sticks around), then Redden is likely gone He had a good playoff run in 2007. If Chara and Redden resign with Ottawa, then maybe he gets his wish as Alfredsson and his cap hit are sent out the door (remember there were rumours of Alfie being dealt early in the 06-07 season after the team had a slow start). Alfie was the best Senators player in the post-season, and one of the few who showed up in the finals.

The 07-08 team was a no-show in the post-season. Does Hossa change this? He wouldn't have been much worse in the post-season than Heatley. But the entire team was bad after a great start to the season. I don't see them moving past the first round with Hossa on the club over Heatley.
 

LightningStorm

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I agree with the basic sentiment here that the difference between the 2 players in this span isn't big enough to make a difference for the Sens. As for the angle of Chara having a better chance at staying had Hossa still been there, from what I remember the Sens chose to pay Redden instead. That likely played a bigger role in Chara leaving than his buddy Hossa already being gone. While on this topic, I remember rumors of Hossa signing in Boston in his back to back FA years of '09 and '10 as a possible reunion with Chara.
 

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