If you rummage around the bag of sports cliches long enough, you pull out the one that says "the best trades are the ones that help both teams."

Dany Heatley will try to collect more hardware in Ottawa.

Well, in the case of Tuesday's big-time swap between the Atlanta Thrashers and Ottawa Senators, the trade -- sending Dany Heatley to the Senators for forward Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries -- not only helps both teams, but two of the principal players involved in the deal. Heatley got the change in address he was looking for and Hossa nailed down the long-term contract he was seeking.

Let's address Heatley's situation first. We can only imagine the pain and turmoil Heatley has experienced in seeing familiar places in the Atlanta area following the tragic and deadly automobile accident that saw Thrashers player Dan Snyder killed and Heatley badly injured.

In the wake of the accident, Heatley received probation for speeding and in what still ranks as an awe-inspiring display of love and compassion, the forgiveness of the Snyder family. But the accident was never far from Heatley's mind and heart, so he pondered asking the Thrashers about a trade.

And in another display of compassion, Thrashers GM Don Waddell agreed.

"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 during a Tuesday afternoon conference call after the trade was announced. "I think all those things led to Dany believing that he needed a fresh start."

Heatley issued a statement to the Thrashers and their fans pointing out that the reason for asking for the trade had nothing to do with hockey or contract-related issues.

"Requesting a change of environment was an extremely difficult decision," Heatley's statement read. "After a tremendous amount of reflection and numerous conversations with my family, it made the most sense to seek a change.

"I appreciate the support the organization has given me over the years and I'd like to thank them for honoring my request. My teammates, the fans and community will always hold a special place in my heart."

Moving back to the hockey-related aspects of the trade, the deal helped strengthen both clubs.

Let's look at the impact on Atlanta first.

First off, the Thrashers had the salary cap room to absorb Hossa, who agreed to a three-year deal with the Senators earlier in the day. That's an important consideration these days. Signing Hossa before an arbitration hearing still pushed the Senators closer to the cap limit than GM John Muckler wanted to be. In making a two-for-one deal and then signing Heatley to a three-year for less than Hossa received, the Senators got some important wiggle room.

And the Thrashers received a bona-fide gamebreaker in Hossa, who at age 26, has plenty of great days ahead of him.

Hossa topped the Senators with 36 goals and 46 assists in 2003-04. 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 the Senators.

"Marian is arguably one of the top players in the world and Greg possesses the invaluable intangibles you need to achieve success," Waddell said. "We have now significantly upgraded our roster with six new, key veterans (Hossa, De Vries, Bobby Holik, Jaroslav Modry, Niclas Havelid and Scott Mellanby), each of whom possess the qualities that will help us become an upper echelon team for many years to come.

"I guess we'll know in a few years exactly what we're giving up," Waddell said. "(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.

Thrashers GM Don Waddell: "Marian is arguably one of the top players in the world..."

Hossa, selected by Ottawa in the first round, 12th overall, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, represented the Senators in the 2001 and 2003 NHL All-Star Games and was selected to play a third time (2004), but could not compete due to injury. He ranks third on the Senators all-time goals list (188), ranks fourth in points (390) and is tied for fifth in games played (467).

Hossa certainly fills the offensive void left by Heatley and it's interesting to contemplate the combinations Thrashers coach Bob Hartley can use with Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk.

And don't be quick to dismiss the impact De Vries will have. The Thrashers are breaking in a top prospect in Braydon Coburn and you can be pretty sure one of the first introductions Hartley makes in training camps will go something like this:  "Braydon Coburn meet Greg De Vries, Greg, meet Braydon." Hartley is well acquainted with De Vries, having coached him in Colorado.

De Vries, 32, is a very solid defenseman. He started his career in Edmonton, had a cup of coffee with the Predators and then established himself as a mainstay with the Avalanche. He played the majority of the 2003-04 season with the Rangers, and was traded to Ottawa at the trade deadline. For his career, De Vries has appeared in 566 regular-season games, scoring 33 goals and 82 assists. He is a plus-33 for his career. In 101 Stanley Cup Playoffs games, De Vries has six goals, 14 assists and is plus-11.

In other words, solid to the bone.

For the Senators, the deal nets them much more than salary cap relief. Heatley is an outstanding player, one on the verge of stardom at the time of the accident. He rehabbed a serious knee injury suffered in the accident and appeared in 31 games, scoring 13 goals and 12 assists.

Heatley, drafted second overall pick in 2000 draft, won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2001-02. He established personal bests in 2002-03, scoring 41 goals and 48 assists, playing on a line with Kovalchuk.

"I have no doubts in my mind that he's going to get back to where he was before," Muckler told reporters. "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.

"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. "It was the perfect fit. It was the perfect fit for us, it was the perfect fit for them. And we both made a great deal.

"We had to do it also because of the talent level of the player that we received," Muckler said, clearly enthused to add a player of Heatley's caliber. "He makes our team younger, he makes our team bigger. He's 6-foot-3, 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."

And there were other factors that also stand to benefit the Senators. Defensemen Zdeno Chara and Wade Redden can both become unrestricted free agents after the 2005-06 season and Muckler needed financial room to get them signed. And he also felt the Senators needed a jolt.

"We let a good hockey player go to Atlanta," Muckler said. "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."