(CP) - For John Muckler, the deal was all about timing.
Dany Heatley wanted out of Atlanta. And Muckler thought it was time for a change in his Senators lineup.
So the Ottawa GM rolled the dice Tuesday, hoping that Heatley can bounce back to bona-fide NHL star status. In return, he gave up a proven goal-scorer in Marian Hossa and a veteran defenceman in Greg de Vries.
In Heatley, the Sens have a talented young player who comes with baggage.
''I have no doubts in my mind that he's going to get back to where he was before,'' Muckler said of Heatley. ''It's going to be a great challenge for him to come to Ottawa and show that he can play at the elite level that he once did.''
Atlanta, it appears, holds too many memories for Heatley. While he rose to stardom there, it also marks the spot where friend and teammate Dan Snyder died after riding in Heatley's black Ferrari.
''Requesting a change of environment was an extremely difficult decision,'' the 24-year-old Heatley said in a statement. ''After a tremendous amount of reflection and numerous conversations with my family, it made the most sense to seek a change.''
Atlanta GM Don Waddell said Heatley first came to him to request a change of scenery on Aug. 9 and that the accident was the main reason.
''Just the emotions that went with the accident and being in the city here. Driving by the place (where) the accident happened, being reminded, we obviously have 37, Dan Snyder's number, in our building,'' Waddell said on a conference call. ''I think all those things led to Dany believing that he needed a fresh start.''
As for Hossa, the 26-year-old may have turned off the Sens with his marquee financial demands. Combine that with the availability of Heatley and Muckler couldn't resist pulling the trigger.
''The problems that we were having signing Hossa and to have a player like that available at the same time, maybe happens once in your lifetime,'' Muckler said in a separate conference call.
Both Heatley and Hossa signed new three-year deals Tuesday. Hossa's is worth $18 million in total while Heatley's is $13.5 million.
Hossa, who was headed to arbitration Tuesday, will earn $5 million this season, $6 million in 2006-07 and $7 million the following season. while Heatley will earn $3.5 million, $4.5 million and 5.5 million.
''It wasn't wake up one day and make a decision, it was a long process,'' Heatley told Calgary radio station Fan 960. ''Just thinking about it with my family and the people around me I just felt it was the best thing for both sides to happen.
''Being a Canadian player and playing in your home country, any of the teams in the country are great to play in - the fans are great and people love hockey here. I'm just really excited and really happy to be in Ottawa.''
Muckler said Hossa's camp did not know their client was headed to Atlanta when the deal was made. Asked if he knew, Muckler said: ''Shortly after, I did.''
Muckler said the penny dropped a couple of weeks ago after a phone conversation with Waddell.
Both had players with issues. Heatley wanted out and Hossa wanted big bucks.
''I never thought too much about it, but then I got to start thinking. I phoned him back and he was serious,'' Muckler said. ''It just mushroomed today.''
They finished the deal at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
''It was the perfect fit,'' Muckler said. ''It was the perfect fit for us, it was the perfect fit for them. And we both made a great deal.''
Muckler denied the salary cap forced the move, but acknowledged that the trade did provide his team ''more flexibility'' down the line.
''It creates a very good opportunity for us to try to hold this club together. That's been our objective right from Day 1 . . . because we feel that we're a contender again this year.''
Two stud defencemen, Zdeno Chara and Wade Redden, are eligible to become unrestricted free agents after this season.
But Muckler kept pointing the finger at Heatley.
''We had to do it also because of the talent level of the player that we received. . . . He makes our team younger, he makes our team bigger. He's six foot three, 215 pounds, he's got a great upside. I think he'll be a delight to watch and I think the people in Ottawa are going to enjoy him.
''Having said that we let a good hockey player go to Atlanta. But I just felt it was time for change. We had two runs at the Stanley Cup, one was partially successful, last season we failed. There's a reason when you fail and those reasons have to be looked and tried to be rectified and this is what we're trying to do.''
Heatley, the second overall pick in the 2000 draft, was the league's top rookie in 2001-02. His best season was 2002-03, when he had 41 goals and 48 assists in 77 games. But his career was derailed by the crash in September 2003.
He was MVP of the IIHF world championships in 2004 but was lacklustre at the same tournament in 2005.
Heatley was injured again while playing in Switzerland during the lockout when a puck struck him in the face, breaking the orbital bone.
De Vries may be the forgotten man in this marquee deal.
The 32-year-old has played in 566 regular season games for Edmonton, Colorado, Nashville, the Rangers and Ottawa. He is due to make $2.28 million this season.
Hossa led the Senators with 36 goals and 46 assists in 2003-04, the last season before the lockout. He has scored 30 goals or more the last four NHL seasons, collecting 188 goals and 202 assists in 467 regular season games, all with Ottawa.
''He scored a lot of goals for us,'' Muckler acknowledged.
Heatley has 80 goals and 101 assists in 190 NHL regular-season games although injuries limited him to 13 goals and 12 assists in 31 games in 2003-04.
The second overall pick in the 2000 draft, he was the league's top rookie in 2001-02. His best season was 2002-03, when he had 41 goals and 48 assists. But his career was derailed in September 2003.
Heatley was driving his Ferrari convertible on a curved road in a residential area when it ran into a brick pillar and iron fence. Snyder, a passenger, died after several days in a coma.
In February, Heatley was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to give 150 speeches about the dangers of speeding after pleading guilty in the death of Snyder in a plea bargain.
Muckler says the Sens have done their homework on Heatley, going over his medical records and having doctors check in person.
''We looked into the other aspects and there's absolutely no problem,'' Muckler declared.
Time will tell.
''I guess we'll know in a few years exactly what we're giving up,'' Waddell acknowledged. ''(Heatley) was a premier player coming into his own prior to the accident, which was very unfortunate. He's worked hard to get back to getting (to be) the player that he once was.''
''But for our franchise right now, I think Marian Hossa fits our needs extremely well,'' he added.