Martin Havlat proving to be a first liner

Martin Havlat has been inconsistent most of his career.  At times he played for poor teams, other times he was injured. Nevertheless, there was still no doubting his talent.

He believed in his talent as did those close to him.  Like most talented players Havlat has been called soft or disinterested.  Some may even go as far as to call the guy lazy.  He is constantly out there to prove not only his doubters wrong but prove that he in fact is a marquee player– at least in Minnesota.

Back in October, Havlat’s agent Allan Walsh called out coach Todd Richards, claiming he was not utilizing his talented client more efficiently, arguing how he deserved more than 14 minutes a game in a secondary role.  Back on Saturday, when the Wild lost to the Dallas Stars, Havlat played close to 19 minutes, scoring the game-tying goal that sent the game into overtime with less than four minutes remaining in the game.  That goal was his seventh of the season and seventh in 20 games– the 20 games since his agent likely crossed the line and called a coach out.

Was Walsh right? Who cares, he may have netted us one of the best comeback sleepers of the year (provided the 29-year-old stays healthy).

Since October 28th, Havlat has seven goals and 20 points in 17 games opposed to only five assists in nine games.  His linemates have not been the team’s top talent as he has failed to establish chemistry with playmaking pivot Mikko Koivu, which is likely due to their constant need for the puck.  Instead he plays with a variety of grinding talent including John Madden, Kyle Brodziak and most recently Pierre-Marc Bouchard.  Similar to Sidney Crosby, he manages to produce with whatever linemates without actually padding their stats; it takes a special amount of selfish to do just that.

Again, we don’t care about ethics or really that the Wild have lost five in a row.

Havlat is producing like a first liner without actually playing there. If this guy is available in your league do not hesitate to take advantage of other’s error and grab him while he’s hot.  At the 48th overall rank in rotisserie and 47th in head-to-head this winger should be owned in more than 66 percent.  His career statistics has favored every other season but keep in mind he has never played a full 82 games season.