Ottawa Senators off-season talk

I understand why too, anyone who doesnt is blind to the facts. That being said, with more character a person would try and overcome that, because a lot of people defend Spezza, about the same amount who ride him. He owes a lot of people a lot of things still in Ottawa.

There is no proof that he has asked for a trade though, so speculating on his character because of it is wrong, so I'll end it there.

Knock on Edmonton's door and offer Spezza+ for the 1st pick! We could use a Hall or Seguin.

I would lose my mind.

Big Ev wrote:Knock on Edmonton's door and offer Spezza+ for the 1st pick! We could use a Hall or Seguin.

Hall or Seguin are potential franchise guys, Spezza is not. It would never happen.

N4L wrote:

Big Ev wrote:Knock on Edmonton's door and offer Spezza+ for the 1st pick! We could use a Hall or Seguin.

Hall or Seguin are potential franchise guys, Spezza is not. It would never happen.

Hence the Borat smiley.

On a side note, check out parts of a Spezza interview done by Hockey's Future in 2002. Pretty interesting to look back on.



Have you had any serious injury in your previous career?
No, I'm lucky. Hope it stays that way.


How would you describe yourself as a player?
Well, I think that I'm good offensively. I'm creative and I can make plays. Offense is my
strength, but I have to work on my defensive play. That's my weakness.


and this from a 2002 article titled : Are We Missing Something on Jason Spezza?

One year ago, Jason Spezza was a demi-god. He demanded four players and
a draft pick in return. He was the number one un-drafted prospect on
the planet. Twelve months later and Jason Spezza, along with a draft
pick, is traded for an NHL longshot. This begs a simple question. Is
there something about Jason Spezza that we’re missing? The answer can
probably be found in the beads of sweat that are produced on Marshall
Johnston’s brow every time the name Jason Spezza comes up. Jason hasn’t
taken his game to the level that many had hoped. He has not shown the
ability to dominate, nor make his teammates much better. His leadership
abilities are not very evident, and he doesn’t give you confidence in
big games. When you look at his past performance, and get by some of
those gaudy numbers, you begin to see some things that could be
worrisome. You can begin to see why Marshall Johnston is sweating.

I dont know how a lot of people dont see exactly what Johnston said. If there was ever a paragraph that summed up Jason Spezza the hockey player, that was it. Nice find.

Its kind of screwed up that the same knocks on him as a teenager are following him today. That sportsnet article seems like Murray is doing everything he can to move Spezza.

I would say there is a very good chance Spezza is gone at or just before the draft.

There's a lot that's right in that article and a lot that is wrong.

And fyi, Johnston didn't say that, it was some no name writer.

And I know the exact cause of that trade for a longshot prospect, and that was on Spezza, he's matured alot since that time.

N4L wrote:Its kind of screwed up that the same knocks on him as a teenager are following him today. That sportsnet article seems like Murray is doing everything he can to move Spezza.

I would say there is a very good chance Spezza is gone at or just before the draft.

Look up a player and add Hockey's Future to the search. It's fun. There's an article about Heatley and Kvoalchuk and how Heatley has average skating and relies on his teammates to set him up, but apparently he is far superior in the defensive zone than Kovalchuk.

stempniaksen wrote:
If he goes to Columbus with Nash, Voracek and Filatov surrounding him? Or to a team like Edmonton who will have Hemsky, Hall, Eberle and MPS? Please tell me how Spezza will get by without Nick Foligno and Peter Regin holding his hand and helping him through.

Did you ever stop to consider that other teams might actually have more talent than the Senators do up front? Listen I like Regin and co as much as the next guy, but Spezza is the straw that stirs the drink up front and whether he's in Ottawa, Columbus or Edmonton the guy will put up points.

Yes saying he would hit 100 is maybe a little far fetched, but you know what, it might not be with the amount of talent this guy has.

People know my view on this so I'm not gonna keep ramming it down their throats, but this move has the potential to be one of the worst moves in franchise history. right up there with drafting Daigle and letting Chara walk.

The issue isn't to trade Spezza, the issue is for the Sens to make a 1-2 punch where he can be the number two guy behind a cheaper, yet more complete first line center. Basically, the idea is to do what every other successful team does: slowly build your blueline, then get 2 excellent centers (think Briere, Richards, Toews, Sharp and so on), while at the same time keeping your depth competitive.

We're not trying to trade Spezza here, we're trying to get some consistency on line 2.

A line of Alfredsson - Cullen - Fisher and Regin - Spezza - Kovalev provides some support to Spezza. That's my opinion, it's still not even optimum, preferably a young buck who explodes onto the scene and puts up 65+ points as a consistent threat on line 1 (or two, depending on how you see Spezza in the long run).

Actually to a lot of people the issue is trading Spezza, haha.

That's why this is even being brought up right now.

Fwiw, I agree that Spezza needs more insulation.

Well, I think everyone can take from this that Spezza probably wants to be moved and Murray probably wants to move him. Not sure what they are going to get or from where, but hopefully there is a little bit of a bidding war, that's a best case scenario.

Any teams in full out rebuild wont deal for him nor will teams that are contenders, that leaves middle of the pack teams looking to get over the top.

July 1 couldnt come sooner though, I just want to know whether he is a Sen for the next 5 years or not.

People rag on me for talking about it non stop, well it's always in the news papers so there is something to what Ive been saying.

SpezDispenser wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:
If he goes to Columbus with Nash, Voracek and Filatov surrounding him? Or to a team like Edmonton who will have Hemsky, Hall, Eberle and MPS? Please tell me how Spezza will get by without Nick Foligno and Peter Regin holding his hand and helping him through.

Did you ever stop to consider that other teams might actually have more talent than the Senators do up front? Listen I like Regin and co as much as the next guy, but Spezza is the straw that stirs the drink up front and whether he's in Ottawa, Columbus or Edmonton the guy will put up points.

Yes saying he would hit 100 is maybe a little far fetched, but you know what, it might not be with the amount of talent this guy has.

People know my view on this so I'm not gonna keep ramming it down their throats, but this move has the potential to be one of the worst moves in franchise history. right up there with drafting Daigle and letting Chara walk.

The issue isn't to trade Spezza, the issue is for the Sens to make a 1-2 punch where he can be the number two guy behind a cheaper, yet more complete first line center. Basically, the idea is to do what every other successful team does: slowly build your blueline, then get 2 excellent centers (think Briere, Richards, Toews, Sharp and so on), while at the same time keeping your depth competitive.

We're not trying to trade Spezza here, we're trying to get some consistency on line 2.

A line of Alfredsson - Cullen - Fisher and Regin - Spezza - Kovalev provides some support to Spezza. That's my opinion, it's still not even optimum, preferably a young buck who explodes onto the scene and puts up 65+ points as a consistent threat on line 1 (or two, depending on how you see Spezza in the long run).

That's exactly the issue. If people dont beleive you can win with Spezza, you have to move him. Im not the only person who thinks this and I think it's becoming pretty clear that Murray and a lot of people in that organization are seeing it too. These playoffs were a HUGE warning shot fired off by Spezza, he didnt compete and he made a lot of bad, rookie mistakes. It was a step backwards in a big way for him.

stempniaksen wrote:Actually to a lot of people the issue is trading Spezza, haha.

That's why this is even being brought up right now.

Fwiw, I agree that Spezza needs more insulation.

Yeah, but the ones who get what's going on in the NHL realize that a two-pronged attack, coupled with good, solid D is what wins. Depth, two top lines, a slick third line and a tough 4th line. No one would question Spezza if Mike Richards was above him in the pecking order - the same way no one really bothers Briere when he's not playing well and Briere pays them back by insulating Richards and scoring massive goals on an equally effective line 2.

Imagine...Richards as the Sens top line center, and Spezza as a 2nd liner. That attack is full out scary - and here's good news: Spezza doesn't have to be 'the guy/the leader'.

I think we could do equally as well with a better 2nd line center.
Spezza will never be our 'leader' but he can be our offensive leader if insulated better.

But ya, we're on the same wavelength here.

SpezDispenser wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Actually to a lot of people the issue is trading Spezza, haha.

That's why this is even being brought up right now.

Fwiw, I agree that Spezza needs more insulation.

Yeah, but the ones who get what's going on in the NHL realize that a two-pronged attack, coupled with good, solid D is what wins. Depth, two top lines, a slick third line and a tough 4th line. No one would question Spezza if Mike Richards was above him in the pecking order - the same way no one really bothers Briere when he's not playing well and Briere pays them back by insulating Richards and scoring massive goals on an equally effective line 2.

Imagine...Richards as the Sens top line center, and Spezza as a 2nd liner. That attack is full out scary - and here's good news: Spezza doesn't have to be 'the guy/the leader'.

That's about all you can do. Richard's isnt walking in that door anytime soon. You can hope and pray all you want but Spezza's contract makes it almost impossible to add impact guys to help him out.

SpezDispenser wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Actually to a lot of people the issue is trading Spezza, haha.

That's why this is even being brought up right now.

Fwiw, I agree that Spezza needs more insulation.

Yeah, but the ones who get what's going on in the NHL realize that a two-pronged attack, coupled with good, solid D is what wins. Depth, two top lines, a slick third line and a tough 4th line. No one would question Spezza if Mike Richards was above him in the pecking order - the same way no one really bothers Briere when he's not playing well and Briere pays them back by insulating Richards and scoring massive goals on an equally effective line 2.

Imagine...Richards as the Sens top line center, and Spezza as a 2nd liner. That attack is full out scary - and here's good news: Spezza doesn't have to be 'the guy/the leader'.

Carter is the C on that second line, but I see what you mean. The Flyers have crazy depth at forward to help Richards if he is off his game.

N4L wrote:
That's about all you can do. Richard's isnt walking in that door anytime soon. You can hope and pray all you want but Spezza's contract makes it almost impossible to add impact guys to help him out.

Really? Briere makes 6.5, Richard 5.5. Spezza makes 7, Guy X makes 5 = the same amount of money.