Second Sharks/Wild Trade: Impact For Both Teams?

The Wild and the Sharks went at it again and this time, it seems that one of the key players in the Sharks' lineup is taking his talents to the Northwest Division.

In the second monster trade between the two teams this offseason, the Sharks traded Dany Heatley to the Wild in exchange for Martin Havlat, one of the co-leading scorers for the Wild last season. He and Heatley have similar numbers and the fact that he has a lower contract in terms of money saves the Sharks the possibility of adding another free agent if they so choose.

I wouldn't expect much than what the Sharks are already doing. Doug Wilson is already starting to get furious that his team is not getting that Stanley Cup and he is already starting to deal away players that he has deemed unfit for the Sharks. First Devin Setoguchi, a top goal scorer, for Brent Burns, a guy who hasn't necessarily been at the same level as Setoguchi. Then there's Dany Heatley, a guy who wanted to go to the Sharks, and did, but now has found himself back up near Canada in Minnesota. Martin Havlat now runs Heatleys' role in San Jose. Okay, so what? It means that the Sharks are tired of getting left out, and they're perhaps starting to quit. Yeah, sure, say what you want to say, but Setoguchi and Heatley were the reasons that the Sharks MADE the playoffs, while Burns and Havlat aren't necessarily guys you can deal with once postseason starts.

It just seems that the Sharks are done as big-time contenders for the Stanley Cup. In fact, even with these moves, I don't see them as big division champions anymore. They may have just met their untimely fate and now the Sharks are going to be feeling that once the regular season starts.

As for the Wild, their chances have just increased. Two big-time guys who can put the puck in the back of the net and that's certainly what Minnesota needs since their past few seasons have gone horribly wrong. In fact, I see Minnesota actually getting to the Stanley Cup semifinals and maybe even the Conference Finals. They know what they're doing, and it looks like it's definitely going to pay off for the Wild come regular time. I feel pretty good now about the Wild's chances. They have somewhere to go and I think that direction is up.

So it looks like there's two teams heading in different directions, at least I think so. For the Sharks, they might have the right pieces, but will it actually show come regular season? For the Wild, is this their year to shine? Only one way to find out: Wait until October 7th. Then we'll finally see who has the upper advantage in these two trades.