Where would you trade Heatley?

The Internet is abuzz with trade rumours, suggestions, and speculations as to where Dany Heatley may be traded, and what may come back to the Senators in return. As much fun as it may be for Senators fans to come up with their own ideas as to what Heatley's worth, there's one place you might be able to get a good idea as to what's reasonable: The great hockey minds within Sports Blogs Nation's hockey network.

So, like any responsible blogger, I polled the other hockey bloggers on SBNation to get an idea of what they felt Heater might be worth, and what they'd trade for him if their team was interested. I received plenty of response, from respectful declines for a trade:

'I wouldn't chase after him / make an offer, even if I think he's got skills. Right now it looks plainly like "I can take the good times, but when things go bad I get tired of it and want out."'

--John Fontana, Raw Charge

To disrespectful declines:

'Alexei Yashin, Pavel Brendl and a 3rd'

--J.P., Japers' Rink

To grudging acceptances:

'I would pass on Heatley but if the Sens were willing to take a bunch of overpaid players like Jochen Hecht and Henrik Tallinder off of our hands than it's a deal.'

--David Oleksy, Die By The Blade

To words of excited anticipation:

'As G.M. of the Edmonton Oilers, I'd be very pleased to send Tom Gilbert, Dustin Penner and Jordan Eberle to Ottawa for Dany Heatley.'

--Jonathan Willis, The Copper & Blue

Okay, not exactly 'excited', but it's a buyer's market when you're looking for a quick sale. For an entire listing of the possible offers, take the jump and check it out.

• Buffalo Sabres (Die By The Blade): D Henrik Tallinder; C Jochen Hecht
• Edmonton Oilers (The Copper & Blue): D Tom Gilbert; W Dustin Penner; C/W Jordan Eberle
• Minnesota Wild (Hockey Wilderness): G Josh Harding; W Pierre-Marc Bouchard OR C James Sheppard
• Nashville Predators (On The Forecheck): W Martin Erat; level 2 prospect; mid-level draft choice(s)
• New Jersey Devils (In Lou We Trust): C Brian Rolston; D Bryce Salvador
• New York Rangers (Blueshirt Banter): D Wade Redden
• Phoenix Coyotes (Five For Howling): D Ed Jovanovski; O Jerry Moyes; conditional third-round draft choice
• St. Louis Blues (St. Louis Game Time): W David Perron, D Barrett Jackman, W Aaron Palushaj
• Toronto Maple Leafs (Pension Plan Puppets): G Justin Pogge; fourth-round draft choice; fifth-round draft choice
• Washington Capitals (Japers' Rink): C Alexei Yashin; W Pavel Brendl; third-round draft choice
• Vancouver Canucks (Nucks Misconduct): W Michael Grabner OR similar prospect; winger OR high pick; any defenceman other than Alex Edler

Not a bad number of offers, although I have a feeling (which may or may not be a feeling of fleeting hope) that Bryan Murray may get a few more serious ones. Especially since he'll be restricted by the teams Heatley has outlined as possible destinations thanks to that blasted no-movement clause.

Of the options above, though, there are three pretty good offers: Those from Edmonton, Minnesota, and St. Louis. Although Edmonton seems likely to be one of Heatley's acceptable teams, Ottawa may have limited use for what's back: Gilbert fills a role the Senators already have filled by the likes of Chris Campoli, Brian Lee, Erik Karlsson, and Alex Picard; Penner is as overpaid and unproductive as Mike Fisher, even if he is strong (and even if Murray might be interested in yet another reunion); and Eberle is a good prospect but far from a sure thing. From Minnesota, Ottawa would just get another goaltender to add to their already overflowing NHL ranks (although a minor-leaguer would be good right now) and one forward who won't come close to filling Heatley's offensively-producing shoes. A bit of cap room from the Minnesota deal, but neither one is ideal.

That leaves the offer from the Blues. Gallagher from SLGT actually offered tha package outlined above of one which would include D Alex Pietrangelo; D Barret Jackman; W Aaron Palushaj OR Phil McRae, which--considering how strong Pietrangelo projects to be--is another strong one. Still, adding a very cheap offensive contributor in Perron, who scored 50 points (15G, 35A) in his sophomore year last year, a pretty good one-time Calder Trophy winner in Jackman, and a good prospect in Palushaj seems like the best of the Senators' offers, at least from SBNation hockey bloggers. Here's Gallagher trying to sell the deal:

In exchange for Dany Heatley, the Blues trade David Perron, Barret Jackman and Aaron Palushaj. Justification: The Sens get a defensive leader who is still in his 20's and can help lock down the defense, a budding offensive star to step right into the lineup (who also has great upside) and a promising forward who has had a lot of success in the college ranks. The Blues still have cap issues here if the cap actually goes down, but shedding Jackman's $3.6+ helps fix the problem.

On top of the players Ottawa would get back, there would also be a couple million in cap space freed up for a possible free agent signing. They often say that the team getting the best player will win any trade, and that seems like it would happen here, but Bryan Murray unfortunately doesn't have much choice.

Although, as I said, the real-life Senators will hopefully receive more and better offers than the ones above, this might be a wake-up call for some Ottawa Senators fans. The team has their hands cuffed by a number of restrictions in this trade, so it won't be easy to get top value for Heatley whenever the trade finally gets done. Perhaps the best we can hope for is a deal which won't set the Senators' ambitions back too far.

Say your piece; What do you think of the offers other SBNationers gave us for Heatley?