Spezza won't be traded.

Neely4Life wrote:Wow, seems I started a serious trend haha.

The papers really should go for this and put it out in the public.

Neely4Life wrote:Wow, seems I started a serious trend haha.

The papers really should go for this and put it out in the public.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I emailed Team1200 boys. Any other thoughts for getting this thing going?

asq2 wrote:

shield4life wrote:Spezza is a great player I don't know why some people don't like him. His only 25 has 73 points which is great but the bad part is his -14. He lacks defensive skills. Ottawa has poor defense and they also lack goaltending. I also think the secondary scoring for the Sens isn't bad but it's just not good enough to help them out enough. I mean maybe the right coaching, a good defensemen and a decent goalie could just turn around the Sens.

How much cap do the Sens have to spend?

The problem with Spezza isn't a lack of defensive skill but a lack of defensive commitment. He's made a number of amazing defensive plays that showcase his technical ability.

The problem is that he simply doesn't fight enough on D, and this plays into the larger problem that while individual aspects of his game have all improved and are all, frankly, incredible, he doesn't bring half as much to the table as he could because he lacks determination.

This is why Zetterbergs and Alfredssons will always be more valuable than Spezzas and Kovalevs, even if the latter two are more gifted. Until Spezza begins using his big frame to battle and keeps his feet moving all the time while he's on the ice, he won't be a player that can lead this team anywhere. For whatever reason he doesn't, I don't know: I don't think it's a case of him having too big an ego because he has shown he works incredibly hard on his game, and trains pretty hard as well. He just needs to reconsider where to focus his efforts. If that means cutting his ice-time, so be it: his statistics will be the same or higher, and he'll get more accolades.

The same lack of determination seems to apply for Heatley, and this is why they can't produce without Alfredsson. I don't think it's that, as N4L posits, "teams have figured Spezza out," it's that Spezza is letting his opponents off too easy.

cash wrote:
The same can be said about Heatley. I just hope he spends a little more time training his explosive speed this off-season and a little less time focusing on those damned 1-timers!!

504Heater wrote:

cash wrote:
The same can be said about Heatley. I just hope he spends a little more time training his explosive speed this off-season and a little less time focusing on those damned 1-timers!!

As time goes on, I think we're gonna start finding out things about Heatley's health. I doubt his knees are any more than 80% - and I doubt they ever will be fully healed to be honest. Unless there's a major, invasive surgery that can mend them and have him up and running after only one off-season.

We still need to remember that he was involved in a devastating car crash. I think he's changing his game to move directly into traffic zones so defenders need to work his upper body (which is massive), instead of using his seemingly limited speed to beat defenders to the outside. That's where Spezza and him have that awesome chemistry. If he can drop it to Spezza, then drive the net hard, it'll put less strain on his knees and more strain on defenders.

The one-timers won't go away IMO. He just doesn't have the strength he once had to beat defenders to the outside, but his hockey sense is so good, that he can usually out maneuver them and find an opening.

This is mostly just a shot in the dark on my part, but I'm pretty sure if the truth ever came out - it would be that Heater's knees will never be the same.

asq2 wrote:
On the positive side, the fact that he's able to produce as much as he does without needing to blow by defenders or overpower them suggests that his production levels won't necessarily go down with age.

wprager wrote:The Sens organization should get away from "Slogans for Seats", because the paying public wants "Deeds for Dollars".

SpezDispenser wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:They are all locked up long term, and the young guys that want to win now have all won in Jr.  People tend to forget how important winning at a young age is and how critical it is to NHL success these days.

You look at all the great young players in the league, Richards, Toews, Crosby, Ovechkin, Getzlaf, Phaneuf, Weber, Price, so on, they all won on some level before they got into the NHL.

Like it or not, aside from Phillips,Alfi, to a lesser extent Heatley, the rest of the team is a bunch of losers with very little character.  People are so sensative to loving their team in Ottawa they fail to see this.  No one there knows how to win, and the guy that is front and center (literally) has NO IDEA what it takes and the proof is in his entire history in the NHL and Jr.

Winning is something The Sens have to work a lot harder for than they did 5, 6, 7 years ago when some of these young guys came in and just expected to.  The guys that were there then did a lot of lossing before they ever won.  The Sens have a lot more losing in front of them before they have a shot at competing with the top teams again.

In fairness, of the guys you mentioned, only Getzlaf has won at the NHL level.  And of the rest, only Crosby has even made it to the Finals.  So, while I'm sure it means a lot, it doesn't mean everything.

Again, I think we're on the same page here.  Bring me a Cory Stillman who has pee and vinegar in his veins and I would think that the organization will take a step forward.

This also makes me a little bit more frustrated that Elliott wasn't returned to Bingo for their run at the playoffs.  He could have single handedly brought them a championship.  Especially when considering there were others on the Sens that could have been sent down to help.  But...hey, what do I know?  

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Price and Weber have won on the international stage. Hard for a d-man and a goalie to win a cup on their own.

sandysensfan wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Price and Weber have won on the international stage. Hard for a d-man and a goalie to win a cup on their own.

It's hard for ANY player to win a Cup on their own ..

NEELY wrote:

sandysensfan wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Price and Weber have won on the international stage. Hard for a d-man and a goalie to win a cup on their own.

It's hard for ANY player to win a Cup on their own ..

Winners are winners, Sandy.  No one wins it on their own but one player has the ability to lift a team.  Spezza is not that, has never been that player, and never will be that player.  The fact some people still believe in him as a player is not only naive it's pathetic because he's shown his faults for 15 years now.  Same critiques when he was 15 are the same at 31.