San Jose Sharks not likely to trade Martin Havlat to Ottawa Senators or New York Rangers

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Nothing seems to turn San Jose Sharks fans on each other like a discussion about Martin Havlat. Some folks seem to think that he’ll eventually become a top-six player and will deliver on his obvious goal-scoring potential, while others think that he’s a dead weight and consumes cap space that could be used on someone that actually does something out on the ice.

Regardless of which camp you’re in, you probably had some sort of gut response yesterday when rumors began circulating that the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers would be interested in acquiring the kind-of sniper. You either thought “take whatever the Blueshirts are offering and run with it!” or “he’s only been back from surgery for eight games so don’t give up on him!”

As per Don Brennan’s original report in the Ottawa Sun, which is where this rumor started:

"According to a source, Murray has talked to the San Jose Sharks about acquiring right winger Martin Havlat. The former Senator recently returned from a pelvis injury and was playing on the team’s third line until Friday, when coach Todd McLellan made him a healthy scratch.The Sharks have also been asked about Havlat by the New York Rangers, said the source, but GM Doug Wilson is not yet ready to give up on the 32-year old Czech, who has a goal and an assist in eight games this season."

Brennan goes on to say that “it’s believed he would waive” his no trade clause to go to the Senators.

Havlat’s agent, Allan Walsh, surfaced today to refute these rumors and to remind everyone that his client is perfectly happy in San Jose.

The fact that no one has asked the player about a trade is important in this case because he’d have to give the green light before the Sharks moved him anywhere. From the perspective of San Jose, there might not be a whole lot to gain in moving Havlat at this point anyway.

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This is a team that’s geared up to win the Stanley Cup, and has been among the stronger teams in the NHL more often than not this season. Why would Havlat waive his no-trade clause to go to one of two teams that have struggled pretty badly right out of the gate?

And if he’s uncomfortable with the Sharks asking him to score some goals and backcheck, what do you think would happen once he got to New York or Ottawa and they informed him that he’d be playing as a top-six forward?

In San Jose, Havlat has the time and space to find his game, and he’s probably more of an impact player (potentially) than anyone else that the Sharks would receive back for him.

While it’s important to take all rumors with a few grains of salt, this trade doesn’t seem particularly likely at this juncture. Both player (Havlat) and team (San Jose) don’t seem interested in hitting the reset button on this thing just yet.