The San Jose Sharks acquired versatile forward Mark Bell from Chicago on Monday as part of a three-team trade that sent Ottawa forward Martin Havlat to the Blackhawks.

The Sharks traded defensemen Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy to Chicago for Bell, who had career highs of 25 goals and 23 assists last season. The Blackhawks then shipped Preissing and Hennessy to the Senators along with defenseman Michal Barinka and a 2008 second-round draft pick in exchange for Havlat and forward Bryan Smolinski.

The deal fills needs for all three teams. The Sharks got another top forward to join their formidable collection, while the Senators added Preissing, an offensive-minded defenseman who should help assuage the free-agency loss of Zdeno Chara. Chicago landed Havlat, a proven NHL scorer who returned from shoulder surgery last season for an outstanding playoff run.

Given his skills and toughness, Bell should be a top candidate to play alongside NHL MVP Joe Thornton and league goal-scoring champion Jonathan Cheechoo on San Jose’s top line.

The thought of joining the league’s most potent tandem forced Bell, who plays all three forward positions, to chuckle with excitement.

“It was very tough to play against those guys last year, and I know how good they are,” said Bell, the eighth overall pick in the 1998 draft. “It’s kind of mind-boggling to think that I could be on that line. If I play on that line, all the best. If not, I’m just going to try to help the team wherever I do play.”

Havlat, who has 235 points in 298 career games with Ottawa, had wavered on signing a long-term deal with the Senators, apparently preferring to test free agency next summer. But he reportedly signed a three-year deal with Chicago after the trade, giving a boost to the Blackhawks’ foundering lineup.

“Havlat is a young, scoring winger who is exactly the type of player we were looking for,” Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon said. “He is 25 years old and has averaged about a point per game. His numbers have improved every season, and he definitely will help our goal scoring.”

Preissing scored 43 points with a plus-17 rating for the Sharks last season while logging significant time on the power play, but the Sharks are loaded with top young defensive prospects.

Matt Carle, last season’s Hobey Baker Award winner in college, showed tremendous promise in a late-season callup to the Sharks, while prospects Josh Gorges, Garrett Stafford and Marc-Edouard Vlasic all might be ready for significant NHL roles next season.

After making no personnel moves before last season, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson went in search of tested young veterans this summer following the club’s second-round playoff loss to Edmonton. San Jose signed forwards Mike Grier and Curtis Brown earlier, adding two experienced NHL talents to a roster consisting largely of homegrown talent.

“He’s a big, physical kid that can play in all situations and really fits in with our team,” said Wilson, a fellow alumnus of the Ottawa 67’s junior club. “To get a guy at this age, coming right into the prime of his career, I think a change might be good for him. It worked pretty well for another guy we picked up.”