NHL's Top 50: Dany Heatley (No. 16)

FanHouse's Adam Gretz takes a look at his top 50 players in the NHL. No. 16 is Ottawa Senators (for now) forward Dany Heatley.

It's been quite an offseason for Dany Heatley and the Ottawa Senators. After a disappointing 2008-09 campaign that saw the team miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, Heatley, the best player on a team starving for offense, requested a trade. Shocking, yes. No matter, general manager Bryan Murray worked to move the disgruntled winger and eventually came to an agreement with the Edmonton Oilers that would have sent Heatley out west for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid.

The problem? Heatley didn't want to play in Edmonton, either, proving that, yes, beggers can be choosers. Heatley may eventually join Alexei Yashin and Alexandre Daigle on the list of most loathed players in Ottawa sports history, but that doesn't change the fact he's still one of the most talented goal-scorers in the world.

The NHL's Top 50 Players: See the Entire List

The Numbers: Dany Heatley
Dany Heatley	Goals	Assists	Points	Pim
Career Totals	260	283	543	456
Average Per 82 Games	41.1	45.9	87.7	73.8

Draft Year: 2000

The New York Islanders traded Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers (for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha ... ouch), setting the stage for Mike Milbury to select Rick Dipietro No. 1 overall. Dany Heatley was the next player off the board, going to the Atlanta Thrashers.

Why He's On My List

Regardless of how he's handled himself this offseason, Heatley's ability to put the puck in the net is as good as any player in the NHL right now. He's finished in the top-10 in goals five times, and even though this past season was considered a down year for the 28-year-old winger, there were still only eight players in the league that finished with more goals. Not bad for an off year.

He has a pair of 50-goal campaigns on his resume, something only six other active players can claim: Alex Ovechkin, Teemu Selanne, Brendan Shanahan, Ilya Kovalchuk, Keith Tkachuk, and Jarome Iginla.

Obligatory YouTube Video

Incredible shot from a terrible angle.