Hockey Trade Rumors

HAVLAT’S FUTURE
It’s going to be intriguing to see how things roll out in San Jose concerning the future of 32-year-old winger Martin Havlat.

GM Doug Wilson came out in the local newspaper this week and talked about Havlat having to earn his ice time on a team loaded with forwards.

The veteran GM is certainly right, when you’re talking about a team that can dress the likes of Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski, Tommy Wingels (who scored twice Thursday night), Tyler Kennedy and rookie Matthew Nieto. And don’t forget at some point this season Raffi Torres will return from injury.

It’s a crowded group.

Havlat’s agent, Allan Walsh, hit Twitter in the wake of a report linking his client to trade rumors to remind everyone of the most important thing: Havlat has a full no-movement clause.

Which is to say he isn’t going anywhere unless he wakes up one day and feels like a change of scenery. Right now, Havlat is happy in San Jose, Walsh said.

The question now: How long will he remain happy if his ice time and role remain limited?

He was a healthy scratch last week, played on the fourth line last weekend in Chicago then got put back on Pavelski’s third line Thursday night in a 5-1 win over Tampa, playing 16:08 but not registering a point.

He has one goal and one assist in nine games entering the weekend.

Even if Havlat has a change of heart and gives Wilson the green light to shop around, the fact that he has another year on his deal paying him $6 million in salary next season ($5 million cap hit) is a bit of an anchor given how banged up the winger has been the past few seasons, which has limited his effectiveness.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/27883/notebook-goalie-trade-talk-and-front-office-compensation