Dany Heatley has been demoted to the third line for Saturday's contest against Florida. He has been terrible this season with no goals and only one assist in eight games. Heatley is an unrestricted free agent as at the end of June and he isn't doing himself any favours by playing the way he has. Saturday night he will skate alongside Kyle Brodziak and Justin Fontaine which is a long way from Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu with whom he played with last season. We don't known if this is the end for Heatley but he's going to have to really pick up his game if he plans on getting any type of contract next season.

Dany Heatley doesn't have a goal after seven games this season. He has one assist and 12 shots for the Wild. Heatley had a disappointing lockout-shortened season as well, where he generated 11 goals, 21 points and a minus-12 rating in 36 contests.

Dany Heatley will remain on the second line for now. Heatley has no points and a minus-two rating in two games. His career has been on a downward path for years and he had just 11 goals and 21 points in 36 games last season. "I watched some video with him [Monday] morning and it's safe to say there's another level, there's another gear there," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "We talked about that, we showed it. He had a great practice [Monday]. I see him doing extra skating after practice. That's a good sign. It's not uncommon to see a lot of bigger bodies take a little longer to get up to full stride."

Dany Heatley still has a very good chance to play alongside Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise on the top line. If this is the case, then Jason Pominville will move down to the second line with either Mikael Granlund or Charlie Coyle centering him. "Some of the best hockey that that line [with Parise and Koivu] played, Heater was on the line." coach Mike Yeo said. "Those guys were putting up points. A big reason why we switched it is we needed to balance things out. We were getting scoring from that line and nobody else. I would be awfully surprised if you didn't see them together at some point this year." Heatley underwent shoulder surgery with a few weeks left in the regular season and is now heading into his contract year. He has a lot to prove and should end up with 25-30 goals if he remains healthy.

Dany Heatley (shoulder) says he feels good and he expects to be ready when training camp opened. Heatley underwent surgery on his shoulder in early April. His injury meant the Wild couldn't use a compliance buyout on him this summer after a third straight sub-par season. Heatley is scheduled to count $5.7 million against the cap this season, the last year of his contract, and only scored 11 goals in 36 games last year. At 32 years old, his peak performance years seem to have passed him by.

It's been almost four years since the Senators filed a grievance against ex-Ottawa winger Dany Heatley and it appears the case is finally coming to a close. The Senators made the move after Heatley demanded to be traded out of Ottawa in 2009, but then used his no-trade clause to nix a deal that would have sent him to the Edmonton Oilers before a $4-million bonus came due. The Sens later sent him to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek. In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen, Sens owner Eugene Melnyk said: "We're coming very close to resolution. I think we're at the stage now of resolving matters with him to our satisfaction and his satisfaction and, you know, we're talking directly with his agent and seeing how we can . and we have tentatively come to an understanding of how to resolve it, so I think we're going to be fine." Melnyk said details of that resolution are secret, though it doesn't sound like like much, if any, money will be changing hands.

Dany Heatley is not a candidate to be bought out of his contract because of his shoulder injury. Teams are not allowed to use a compliance buyout on an injured player and Heatley is still considered injured after undergoing shoulder surgery in early April. Heatley will have a cap hit of $5.7 million in the last year of his contract this upcoming season but will get only $5 million in actual salary. He had 11 goals and 21 points in 36 games before the surgery but he is now three years removed from a 39 goal, 82 point season, the final year he had a big season after five straight years of at least 39 goals. He is only 32 and may need yet another change of scenery.

Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune writer Michael Russo points out that Dany Heatley's injured shoulder could create cap problems for the Minnesota Wild. Before getting hurt, Heatley and his $5.7 million cap hit were obvious candidates for one of the team's two compliance buyouts. However, injured players can't be bought out and it's unclear if Heatley will be healthy in time for the first buyout window, which begins 48 hours after the Stanley Cup final ends and stops when free agency opens on July 5. According to Russo, the Wild currently have a little over $6 million to fill out the roster and sign a No. 1 goaltender, which is hardly enough. Russo speculates the team could deal several players, such as Devin Setoguchi, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck and/or Tom Gilbert. There's also a second buyout window later in the summer that could give the Wild some breathing room, but the Wild would need at least one of their two arbitration-eligible players to file for arbitration.

Dany Heatley (shoulder) skated alone Monday and was spotted firing pucks, as well, during the session. Heatley underwent surgery on his dislocated shoulder April 7 and is supposed to be done for the season. However, it appears possible he could return depending on how far the Wild go. He's likely definitely out for the first round, which means the Wild would have to upset the top-seeded Blackhawks for Heatley to have a chance to return.

Dany Heatley, who underwent shoulder surgery April 8 for a dislocation as well as what's believed to be a torn labrum, is supposed to be out through the playoffs, but he was not discounting the possibility of returning to the lineup if the Wild makes the postseason. Heatley, who had played full 82-game seasons in five of the past seven years, would only say his shoulder is feeling good.