Dany Heatley

Dany Heatley

Daniel James Heatley (born January 21, 1981) is a German-Canadian professional ice hockey winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Heatley has been an All-Star throughout his career. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top NHL rookie in 2002. However, after being responsible for a car accident in September 2003 that killed teammate and close friend Dan Snyder, he requested a trade and was subsequently dealt to the Ottawa Senators.

One of the Senators' perennial leading scorers during his tenure with Ottawa, Heatley 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. He 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.

Heatley 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, Heatley demanded a trade from the Senators. A deal was in place to send Heatley to the Edmonton Oilers on June 30, but Heatley refused to waive his no-trade clause. On September 12, he was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in return for Milan Michálek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round draft pick in 2010. After playing two seasons in San Jose, he was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Martin Havlat.