In Defence of Spezza

In another thread Neely talked about getting rid of Spezza and referencing Cup winners like Sakic, Yzerman and Modano.

Now I did a little research about them all:

Steve Yzerman:
In Yzerman's first 13 Seasons he played in 1 Cup final.
He won his first cup in his 14th Season at age 32

Mike Modano:
In Modano's first 9 Seasons he played in 1 Cup final.
He won the cup in his 10th Season at age 29

Joe Sakic:
In Sakic's first 7 seasons he played in a total of 12 playoff games.
He won his first cup in his 8th Season at age 26

Jason Spezza:
In Spezza's first 5 seasons he has been to 1 Cup final.
Jason Spezza is only 25 years old.

My point is that we remember the past a little bit different than the way it actually happened. Let's give it some time, Spezza has only played in 344 NHL games including this year.

Sometimes the best deal is the one that isn't made.

Good analysis. Spezza is a victim right now of learning a new system while media and fans wait for him to screw up with baited breath.

plus, I'd like to add that sakic was on one of the greatest teams ever.

Puke...

the thing that differentiates Spez from the others mentioned here is that they at least showed improvement over the years leading up to the glory...

Spezza has yet to show improvement...in fact he really has gotten worse...

so while there is the...he is young...give him time...look at Stevie...Mike...and Joe stuff...I am no longer in the buying line-up...he is far from them...now and then!!

One more thing.

Which one of the following doesn't belong:

Sergei Federov
Joe Nieuwendyk
Peter Forsberg
Mike Fisher

RobbyJ wrote:One more thing.

Which one of the following doesn't belong:

Sergei Federov
Joe Nieuwendyk
Peter Forsberg
Mike Fisher

Fedorov- he's hardly ever hurt :D

COLLAR UP wrote:Puke...

the thing that differentiates Spez from the others mentioned here is that they at least showed improvement over the years leading up to the glory...

Spezza has yet to show improvement...in fact he really has gotten worse...

so while there is the...he is young...give him time...look at Stevie...Mike...and Joe stuff...I am no longer in the buying line-up...he is far from them...now and then!!

Are you serious? There were thousands of Neely's who wanted Yzerman gone in Detroit. Heck, he almost came here for Yashin. Modano almost got traded so many times, it's really impossible to count, including a deal that would have sent Turco and him here for Spezza +. Sakic is a special hockey player, he's a 1 in a million. End of story, but it didn't hurt that when he had finally matured he could look over at Forsberg, Hejduk, Patrick Roy, Tanguay, Foote, DeVries, Blake and be reminded that he wasn't the only one with the spotlight.

RobbyJ wrote:One more thing.

Which one of the following doesn't belong:

Sergei Federov
Joe Nieuwendyk
Peter Forsberg
Mike Fisher

Yeah, exactly. Fisher's the guy that we should all be looking at. It's impossible to keep him unless he mans up and takes the wing to a real center.

504Heater wrote:

RobbyJ wrote:One more thing.

Which one of the following doesn't belong:

Sergei Federov
Joe Nieuwendyk
Peter Forsberg
Mike Fisher

Yeah, exactly. Fisher's the guy that we should all be looking at. It's impossible to keep him unless he mans up and takes the wing to a real center.

I wish I knew how those contract talks went down. Were Fisher's representative's holding out for big money, or did Murray just have a brain cramp and write 4.2 instead of 3.2.

COLLAR UP wrote:Puke...

the thing that differentiates Spez from the others mentioned here is that they at least showed improvement over the years leading up to the glory...

Spezza has yet to show improvement...in fact he really has gotten worse...

so while there is the...he is young...give him time...look at Stevie...Mike...and Joe stuff...I am no longer in the buying line-up...he is far from them...now and then!!

How so? His defensive game is greatly improved and the defensive issues left are greatly exaggerated.

He's dumping and chasing now instead of trying to deke at the line every time.

He no longer makes numerous blind drop passes. The only risky passes I see him make are ones where he's behind the (opposition) net and he throws it into the slot.

He takes pride in his face-offs.

His skating has improved.

As a matter of fact, it's hard to name a lot of players who have improved on the Sens as much as Spezza has since Spezza's come into the picture.

People will point to the lack of production as a sign that he's getting worse, but really it's because of the lack of puck-movement from our D and the defensive system we play that's causing that. His game has gotten smarter and better defensively, and as a result he's producing less. So did Yzerman's.

Spezza has not had either a top-flight PMD or another line that can produce with any consistency since '05-'06 and has never had another centre remotely capable of taking the scoring load off of him.

Bonk, White, Fisher, Kelly, Bass, Vermette, Comrie (briefly), McAmmond etc. have been the best we've been able to do for him.

504Heater wrote:

COLLAR UP wrote:Puke...

the thing that differentiates Spez from the others mentioned here is that they at least showed improvement over the years leading up to the glory...

Spezza has yet to show improvement...in fact he really has gotten worse...

so while there is the...he is young...give him time...look at Stevie...Mike...and Joe stuff...I am no longer in the buying line-up...he is far from them...now and then!!

Are you serious? There were thousands of Neely's who wanted Yzerman gone in Detroit. Heck, he almost came here for Yashin. Modano almost got traded so many times, it's really impossible to count, including a deal that would have sent Turco and him here for Spezza +. Sakic is a special hockey player, he's a 1 in a million. End of story, but it didn't hurt that when he had finally matured he could look over at Forsberg, Hejduk, Patrick Roy, Tanguay, Foote, DeVries, Blake and be reminded that he wasn't the only one with the spotlight.

Don't forget Bourque. :D

RobbyJ wrote:
I wish I knew how those contract talks went down. Were Fisher's representative's holding out for big money, or did Murray just have a brain cramp and write 4.2 instead of 3.2.

Fisher was hot at the time. Big, hulking, mean center who can play a solid 2 way game and had just hit 20+ goals. It seemed like a key piece to keep at the time.

In retrospect, you had to choose between Spezza and Fisher. And to me that's an absolute no-brainer.

people wanted to trade alfredsson two years ago. how quickly we forget...

Tukker wrote:people wanted to trade alfredsson two years ago. how quickly we forget...

It blows my mind that we could have had Craig Conroy for him but we didn't pull the trigger.

asq2 wrote:

Tukker wrote:people wanted to trade alfredsson two years ago. how quickly we forget...

It blows my mind that we could have had Craig Conroy for him but we didn't pull the trigger.

Craig Conroy!! NO WAY!!