Sens at Land’s End

Silicon Valley Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy offers this in his assessment of the Heatley trade (link via James Gordon):

But let’s say Heatley does have an edge to his personality. That wouldn’t be the worst thing to toss into the Sharks’ mix. The team needs more crankiness in the dressing room. And you don’t see many pictures of Heatley where he’s smiling. He has the stare of a nightclub bouncer and the hands of a master craftsman. Not a bad combination.

Sure, Heatley is cranky. For example, if you’re looking for someone to yap at the ref after he takes yet another hooking penalty, Heatley is your guy. If he’s unhappy with his icetime, I guess he’ll let you know. If the definition of “edge” is whining and stomping and shouting “ME! ME! ME!” then yes, I suppose Heatley will add something to the Sharks.

But if by “edge” you mean the willingness to throw a hit, go into a corner, or fight an opponent to stick up for a teammate or give the team an emotional boost — which I think is probably a more traditional definition of edge, but maybe we can’t expect someone in San Jose to know that — then I’m not sure Heatley is the one you want.

Joe Thornton, who, in case you don’t remember, fought Ryan Getzlaf during the Sharks-Ducks playoff series last season — which I’ll bet money Heatley would never do — has more edge than Heatley. Heatley wears an RBK Edge jersey and has edges on his skate blades. Those are about the only edges you’ll find on him.