LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 25: Dany Heatley #51 of the Anaheim Ducks looks on against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on September 25, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Report: Dany Heatley will play in Finland next season

Don’t expect Dany Heatley back in the NHL next season.

According to Jatkoaika, Heatley is in talks to play in Finland with the Lahti Pelicans of the SM-Liiga. It would continue the downward trend of Heatley’s once-promising career.

Heatley has experienced all the ups and downs one can experience in a hockey career. The 35-year-old started his career in Atlanta as one of the game’s premiere scorers. He won the Calder in his first season with the Thrashers. Soon after a car he had driven got in an accident which killed teammate Dan Snyder, which prompted Heatley to eventually demand a trade out of Atlanta.

He was dealt to the Ottawa Senators in 2005, where he scored 50 goals in back-to-back seasons. Heatley would continue to score at an elite level, before demanding a trade once again, this time to the San Jose Sharks. He scored 39 goals in his first season with the team but slowly started to decline. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild where he played three seasons. He then signed a deal with the Ducks in 2014 and only appeared in six games. He spent the majority of the 2014-15 season in the minors. This season, the German-born Canadian played with the Nuermberg Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers in the DEL.

Heatley looked to be a lock as a Hall of Famer during the peak of his career, but unfortunately, he was unable to sustain his scoring prowess in his last few NHL seasons. Still, it’s good to see he’s continuing to play hockey at a high level. Who knows? Maybe he’ll recapture his scoring touch in Finland and return to the NHL some day. I wouldn’t count on it, but stranger things have happened.

[The Hockey News]

 

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com

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