In Defence of Spezza

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!!

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.

Yes I am serious...don't you get a little tired of comparing Spezza to Yzerman and the others...can you not at least see the possibility that Spezza will NEVER be what we want...

don't get me wrong...he is good...but what I am getting at is that all this talk...all the time about poor little Spez...give him a break...he will come around...

you have to sit back and ask yourself...what if he doesn't...what if he never becomes our Joe or Mike...

I am beginning to think he may not...

Vinny...now there is a guy you can compare to the group of elites...Spez...I am not sure...

I think there is too much panic talk in here. It's like Jekyll and Hyde on these boards.

One person will come in and say, let's trade for player X to keep from losing.

The next person will come in and say, let's just sell off some pieces for draft picks and hope to draft high.

Look, here's the thing. This team will not continue to struggle like this all year. Whether we end up making the playoffs or not, they just won't struggle like this.

You have to remember how many new defensemen we have this year. Defensemen don't just read a team's play book and go off that. It takes time for these guys to develop a chemistry, learn each other's tendencies, and then those of the forwards.

We've got Jason Smith, Alexandre Picard, Filip Kuba and Brenden Bell (right now) who are all new on the team this year. I think that idea skips minds quite a bit.

Give it time. The Fishers and Vermettes won't continue to struggle as badly as they have. Our top line will get back to doing what they do (dominating teams). We have the team defense (except against the Islanders for some odd reason) in place. THAT'S the hardest part to get into a team's head. Especially given how BAD they were last year. They lost anything that resembled a system.

I can feel this team turning it around. Too many pieces in place.

With all that said, yes we do need to make a move for a high-calibre defenseman. Not just bring in some filler until the end of the year, but a guy who will actually come in and be a number 1 defenseman for us. We haven't had that since Chara left all those years ago.

COLLAR UP wrote:
Yes I am serious...don't you get a little tired of comparing Spezza to Yzerman and the others...can you not at least see the possibility that Spezza will NEVER be what we want...

don't get me wrong...he is good...but what I am getting at is that all this talk...all the time about poor little Spez...give him a break...he will come around...

you have to sit back and ask yourself...what if he doesn't...what if he never becomes our Joe or Mike...

I am beginning to think he may not...

Vinny...now there is a guy you can compare to the group of elites...Spez...I am not sure...

Why? He did it at age 23, why wouldn't he be able to lead the Sens back to the Cup Finals? Us getting there was as much about him as it was about Alfredsson. He was the cog that kept the machine running.

People love to rag on him because he's fancy and he doesn't get his hands dirty, but now he'd dumping and chasing it down himself - but not scoring as much - and people rag some more on him.

Corvo obviously had a point saying the media and fans here were too much to bear. It's getting to be as bad here as it is in Montreal. Lose and we trade everyone, win and you're our hero.

Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. What can I say?

I agree with Heater. The fans in Ottawa are all over what a player doesn't do, as opposed to what they do (i.e. Spezza throwing hits, Fisher scoring, Gerber stopping the puck).

Be careful what you wish for....

dennycrane wrote:I agree with Heater. The fans in Ottawa are all over what a player doesn't do, as opposed to what they do (i.e. Spezza throwing hits, Fisher scoring, Gerber stopping the puck).

Be careful what you wish for....

I don't recall this

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!!

Collar, I usually agree with you, but last year Spezza had close to a career year. He would have gotten 100+ points if he didn't get injured, and if the team didn't suffer from internal bleeding he probably would have been the first 25 year old 1st line centre to lead his team to back-to-back Finals.

It was more than a possibility.

So, here we are, one year later. Yes, Spezza has not gotten better. He has gotten worse. So have Heatley, Alfredsson, Fisher, Vermette, Kelly, Phillips, Volchenkov; you can also throw Lee in there. Very few players on the Senators have remained at their level from last year (Donovan, Foligno, anyone else?) and fewer still have improved (McAmmond, but that's mostly because he was concussed most of last year).

I can understand how people may be upset at Spezza's play this year, but you honestly cannot think that he is in a unique situation here. If Heatley and Alfredsson are soe much more complete players, then why are *their* numbers down significantly from last year?

COLLAR UP wrote:
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.

Yes I am serious...don't you get a little tired of comparing Spezza to Yzerman and the others...can you not at least see the possibility that Spezza will NEVER be what we want...

don't get me wrong...he is good...but what I am getting at is that all this talk...all the time about poor little Spez...give him a break...he will come around...

you have to sit back and ask yourself...what if he doesn't...what if he never becomes our Joe or Mike...

I am beginning to think he may not...

Vinny...now there is a guy you can compare to the group of elites...Spez...I am not sure...[/quote]

Ok, and what's Vinny up to now? I'd put Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Thornton, Iginla, Nash ahead of him in a flash, without even thinking twice.

The reality is simple. Spezza is not Sakic, he's not Yzerman or any of the others mentioned. Up until this point in his career he's been viewed as a one dimensional player and a negative in his own zone. This season that is changing, he is learning to be a more complete player. That, unfortunately does not happen overnight. Murray has two options: stick with him and see what kind of player he becomes or trade him now because A) the time is now and our best chance for the cup is without Spezza on this team, replacing him depth players. or B) this team is headed downhill with our without Spezza, lets trade him now for draft picks and future.

To me, its simple. You keep Spezza. He's still young...yes its an excuse but its the truth. No one can deny Spezza's creativity and offensive gifts. Look at the contract Scott Gomez is getting from the Rangers. Overpaid? Possibly, but he's there because he plays a great two way game and manages to put up 70 points. In my mind, Spezza can be that player given time and once that comes around, I think we'll start to see the creativity that has always been there and the passion he brought with him when he came into the league.

During the next Sens game, try to see the positives in Spezza's game. They're there and personally, I'm pumped to see what this guy is gonna look like at seasons end.

PKC wrote:I think there is too much panic talk in here. It's like Jekyll and Hyde on these boards.

One person will come in and say, let's trade for player X to keep from losing.

The next person will come in and say, let's just sell off some pieces for draft picks and hope to draft high.

Look, here's the thing. This team will not continue to struggle like this all year. Whether we end up making the playoffs or not, they just won't struggle like this.

You have to remember how many new defensemen we have this year. Defensemen don't just read a team's play book and go off that. It takes time for these guys to develop a chemistry, learn each other's tendencies, and then those of the forwards.

We've got Jason Smith, Alexandre Picard, Filip Kuba and Brenden Bell (right now) who are all new on the team this year. I think that idea skips minds quite a bit.

Give it time. The Fishers and Vermettes won't continue to struggle as badly as they have. Our top line will get back to doing what they do (dominating teams). We have the team defense (except against the Islanders for some odd reason) in place. THAT'S the hardest part to get into a team's head. Especially given how BAD they were last year. They lost anything that resembled a system.

I can feel this team turning it around. Too many pieces in place.

With all that said, yes we do need to make a move for a high-calibre defenseman. Not just bring in some filler until the end of the year, but a guy who will actually come in and be a number 1 defenseman for us. We haven't had that since Chara left all those years ago.

bang on.


it was shear luck that the Flyers were able to turn it around last year. It takes time for a team to gel...especially when you overall the D corps the way we have.

Even with all that change, our D is in the TOP 5 in the league in goals against. We're doing great! So now we've got Goaltending, Defence, and now the scoring has to....and will come around...trading a Spezza....or even just constantly ragging on him is not the way to go. People are frustrated, the players are frustrated but for the love, we're 6 points out of the playoffs with over 60 games to go!

Spezza was drafted to a 1st place team, where were the other guys drafted? Wings, awful, Nordiques, awful, North Stars awful.

The went through the high and the lows with their teams and grew with them, Spezza was thrown into a situation that very few top 5 picks ever get, a top team.

Spezza has had his bad habits since he was 14, and still does. Usually when guys are drafted into the NHL they either have to pay their dues one way or another, either in the AHL for a few years (the lockout doesnt count either) or on a bad team that loses, Spezza has done neither.

Its not his fault and he might be a victim of cicumstance here in Ottawa, but he has never been on a losing team in the NHL and never really had to work hard to improve the team or really earn a spot through hard work, he won it through reputation. Say what you want but thats the truth to it all.

Neely4Life wrote:Spezza was drafted to a 1st place team, where were the other guys drafted? Wings, awful, Nordiques, awful, North Stars awful.

The went through the high and the lows with their teams and grew with them, Spezza was thrown into a situation that very few top 5 picks ever get, a top team.

Spezza has had his bad habits since he was 14, and still does. Usually when guys are drafted into the NHL they either have to pay their dues one way or another, either in the AHL for a few years (the lockout doesnt count either) or on a bad team that loses, Spezza has done neither.

Its not his fault and he might be a victim of cicumstance here in Ottawa, but he has never been on a losing team in the NHL and never really had to work hard to improve the team or really earn a spot through hard work, he won it through reputation. Say what you want but thats the truth to it all.

Martin wouldn't let him play. He earned his spot with his performance in the '02-'03 playoffs.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081129.ROY29/TPStory/Sports

"I'm not too sure why I've been Public Enemy No. 1 this year," Spezza says, baffled.

"People will judge. I'm not sure what the reason is and how so much of it has changed in the last year or so."

Great article. Sums up what a lot of us have been saying - the media and the fans here in Ottawa are blowing it.

asq2 wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Spezza was drafted to a 1st place team, where were the other guys drafted? Wings, awful, Nordiques, awful, North Stars awful.

The went through the high and the lows with their teams and grew with them, Spezza was thrown into a situation that very few top 5 picks ever get, a top team.

Spezza has had his bad habits since he was 14, and still does. Usually when guys are drafted into the NHL they either have to pay their dues one way or another, either in the AHL for a few years (the lockout doesnt count either) or on a bad team that loses, Spezza has done neither.

Its not his fault and he might be a victim of cicumstance here in Ottawa, but he has never been on a losing team in the NHL and never really had to work hard to improve the team or really earn a spot through hard work, he won it through reputation. Say what you want but thats the truth to it all.

Martin wouldn't let him play. He earned his spot with his performance in the '02-'03 playoffs.

Hardly liek the others. He didnt come into training camp looking to turn heads, he actually complained when he got sent down originally incase no one remembers. He has had a sense of entitlement since he has gotten here.

People always think I trash everything about the guy, but people always think its so black and white. Its either your wrong, or your right, there is no inbetween with people. Do I think Spezza is going to be anything other than a play making center that puts up points, no I dont, you cant say Im wrong because its an opinion. Ive given my reasons for it and I back it up with things that have happend and how he Spezza plays. If people see more potential in the guy than I do fine, I have never said, "you're wrong" not once. If there wasnt a salary cap Spezza wouldnt be a real problem, but you look across the league at the best teams and you tell me how much money is invested in the D. Defense still wins championships and it always will.

Spezza has been handed everything to him on a silver platter since he has gotten here.

Also, those other guys you mentioned have the ability to turn a game around whether you are up or down, like it or not Spezza still has not proven that. Modano, Sakic, Yzerman, didnt matter what the score was, they would be giving 100% and the knock on the Sens and the players here for years has been if things dont go their way, they fold and its still true.

They also had more of an ability to put the puck in the net.

504Heater wrote:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081129.ROY29/TPStory/Sports

"I'm not too sure why I've been Public Enemy No. 1 this year," Spezza says, baffled.

"People will judge. I'm not sure what the reason is and how so much of it has changed in the last year or so."

Great article. Sums up what a lot of us have been saying - the media and the fans here in Ottawa are blowing it.

Well if he doesnt get it then there is a problem. He is signed to the biggest contract in team history, he isnt producing, and he is not playing well. Who the hell would not question his play after signing a 7 year deal for almost 50 million dollars?!

The guy is dense and that statement basically shows exactly why he will never get it!

Neely4Life wrote:
Well if he doesnt get it then there is a problem. He is signed to the biggest contract in team history, he isnt producing, and he is not playing well. Who the hell would not question his play after signing a 7 year deal for almost 50 million dollars?!

The guy is dense and that statement basically shows exactly why he will never get it!

Then there's a problem with Alfie and Heatley and Fisher and Phillips and Volchenkov. Hell the whole team. But we have to focus on Spezza - always bashing. Media and fans alike. Over and over. Until finally he gets sick of and asks to be traded like Corvo (and how many others, we don't even know).

Ottawa fans better wake up and smell the coffee pretty soon. We're becoming more and more like Habs or Leafs fans - and I can't stand the idea of that happening.