You do have to wonder how any veteran pending UFA would react to being traded from a playoff team to a bottom feeder though. I could see a lot of players really mailing it in after that point. Maybe it was better to not introduce that awkward element to the locker room.
Having said that, Heatley would have been given every chance to get ice-time and get a good streak in before hitting free agency. It might have worked out.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
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