Did J.Spezza choose wrong?

[Zz_]

This off-season felt nearly like it was all about the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars as both teams begged Jason Spezza to waive his no trade clause. Ottawa had been shopping their star center and captain for quite some time, yet what they were asking seemed to cause delays.

Jason Spezza, was drafted number two overall back in 2001 by the Ottawa Senators, thirteen years ago now, Spezza is still a very talented and smart hockey player that hasn’t slowed down much. At 30 years old and a year removed from back surgery, Jason desired a change of scenery.

 

Nashville begged and begged Jason Spezza to come to Tennessee, however, he would not do so. (Jason) Spezza would though waive his no trade for the Dallas Stars. However, 19 games in and a -10, you have to wonder is Spezza may be kicking himself for not moving to Nashville. With teammates like, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff, Kari Lehtonen and more many expect Dallas to be top 3 in the Central Division. However, Dallas finds themselves fighting with the Colorado Avalanche for last place in the Central.

 

Like Colorado, chemistry seems to be lacking with the Stars line up. They lack the ability to finish a game or climb back. Another sore spot, that does not include injuries to young star players, would be their backup goaltender. Andres Lindback, a 26 year old Swedish goalie with size, cannot find the magic he broke into the NHL with in Nashville. In 22 games in the 2010-11 season, Lindback, was 11-5-2, since then he has not had a winning record and has suffered from .902 and worse save percentage. Dallas felt he could be a candidate for the backup spot with a location change, however a 0-4-0 record with 15 goals against is not looking very bright. Anders offers a horrible 4.52 goals against average and a .845 save percentage, something you would expect from an 18 year old rookie that has never played and was thrown into a starting position. Maybe it is time Dallas prospect Jack Campbell get called up, he has only had one chance to play in the NHL, with the amount of talent and hype this kid has, it shouldn’t be a question of why, but when!

 

Another rough spot for Dallas is their Power Play, ranking 23^rd in the NHL with 15.4 percentage. They have only scored 10 goals on 65 opportunities, while allowing only 2 shorthanded goals. Their Penalty Kill is not much better, ranking 19^th in the league. Dallas has allowed 14 goals on 67 attempts, for a kill rate of 79.1 percent. Having both your special teams 19^th or worse will kill nearly any team at any level, if Dallas wants to change their ways, backup goaltending and special teams needs a lot of work, it is becoming that point in the season where time continues to run out, as most teams know their identity by the 25-30^th game of the season. 

[jammer2]

@   If the goal is to win the cup, I'd much rather put my eggs in the Pekka Rinne basket rather than the Letfourin side of the equation. Plus, Seguin and Spezza are both natural centers, so he would always be playing second fiddle to Seguin...in Nashville, he would have been the "unquestioned" man.

[Zz_]

@jammer2

 

could not agree more. Nashville made some smart moves and have several top notch D with a future in Seth Jones. I think Speeza looked at Seguins success and realized maybe 2nd line wouldnt be horrible, and also looked at having former wing man Ales Hemsky. What he didnt look at was a healthy goalie in Rinne and a steller D that just had rough back to back seasons with no goalie in Rinne and no goal scorer. Add in those two and there ya go, a consistent Rinne vs an inconsistent Lehtonen. 

[jammer2]

@    Plus, having Forsberg and James Neal as primary wingers for the rest of his career is not exactly chopped liver. That would have been a prolific line for a number of years had they gotten together.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

As always guys, it is easy to second guess....

 

I am not disputing that perhaps Jason Spezza would have been with the "better" team in Nashville as opposed to Dallas this season, but really...who saw the Preds doing as well as they are doing (near the top of their division), and the Stars doing so poorly (near the bottom of the same division)?

Not many.

 

I for one am not OVERLYsurprised that Nashville is doing well...a healthy Rinne, an injury-free roster, and a more open, yet solid defensive style of Peter Laviolette would assure that.

Let's not forget it wasn't too long ago that the Preds were being talked about as a rising, up n coming team.

But for them to be doing as well as they are and competing with the likes of Chicago and St. Louis, and surpassing a team like the Wild to this point in the standings IS pretty impressive and mildly surprising.

 

And the same could be said of Dallas and their reversed fortunes from last year to this.

The Stars are STILL a dynamic offensive team that does have chemistry issues as was mentioned, AND just has trouble, as a team, being defensively responsible....not to mention that the emotions of several of their players hurt the team more than help...I.E. they take bad penalties at the worst possible times.

 

But going back to the off season regarding Spezza, given the choice of the Preds and Stars, and given the same conditions as before (Stars made the playoffs and were looked at as a rising team, while the Preds did not make the playoffs, looked dead in the water and many not sure what they would do this season), I think it is safe to say that Spezza choosing Dallas would be the choice most people would think he should have made all along once again.

 

Spezza himself is not really a solution to some of the Stars' current problems though.

Not going to put all the defensive woes on Spezza (that wouldn't be fair), but let's face it...Spezza never was a good defensive player. He is paid to score goals and to set up goals. That is why Dallas wanted him, that is why Nashville wanted him.

 

But the Stars' main collective problem seems to be in goal prevention. Something the defense, the goaltender (especially the goaltenders..both of them), and the team overall has struggled with.....and Jason Spezza himself is not anywhere near the type of player who can help there.

 

Did he choose wrong? Perhaps.

But then, we could say that about lots of players in the league if they choose to sign somewhere or insist on being traded there, and the team they chose doesn't do well while another potential landing spot team does.

 

Season isn't lost for Dallas.

There are some wacky things going on in the Central Division and something tells me that despite struggles by teams such as Colorado, Dallas, and to a lesser extent, the Wild, and the somewhat surprising play of teams like Nashville and Winnipeg, that this division will remain interesting the rest of the season.

 

One can say Jason Spezza 'chose wrong', but perhaps it is more accurate to say, Nashville perhaps dodged a potential anchor in defense by NOT getting Spezza...

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Here ya go guys...from this morning...

 

From NHL.com

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=740337&navid=nhl:topheads

 

Apparently, Spezza himself doesn't think he chose wrong.

4 more years for Jason in Dallas.....and I am sure both the Stars and the player are looking forward to defense and on-ice discipline being improved, and for Spezza to continue to work with the very good young core of players the Stars have.

 

Jason probably could have just let his contract run out on July 1st and tested free agency, but seems to believe in what Dallas is trying to do and vice versa.

[Zz_]

I personally can say, we have all watched players choose wrong certainly. I chose to write this due to the fact that there is a lot of opinion to it. I think Spezza could have gone anywhere, yet I feel Seguin and Hemsky had a lot to do with the landing spot. Which could be good, if Dallas can get back to defense and get a solid backup, they are potentially higher than Nashville. 60+ games left, anything can happen.

[yave1964]

Nah, I think Spezza is a great fit in Dallas and it will work out well by the time it is done. Hemsky, now THERE is a bad signee, a hot month playing alongside Spezza after a trade led to a giddy signing, he is a guy who gets paid way more than he is worth based off skill and not production. I am not saying I would not have signed him, but no way would he have gotten a big money deal out of me.

But Dallas will rebound. They have Seguin and Benn, they were top heavy with one line last year, Spezza is doing what the Stars had hoped for, the kids, Garbutt, Niscolainen and Roussel come to mind need to step it up. On defense, young Klingberg is in the lineup and there to stay, he is an offensive elite talent from the blue line who is unlike anything Dallas has had since, well, since never.

So back to Spezza, some guys don't wanna be a number one, they don't want the pressure. In Dallas he has the opportunity to be just one of the guys and that seems to suit him fine. I still think the Stars are gonna be in it come the end of the year.

[fanaticV3.0]

I just read that he got a $30 million dollar, 4 year contract. My initial reaction was, "At least it's not just us."

 

As for the topic at hand, it depends on what his goals were. Maybe he just wanted to be out of the spotlight and get paid? If so, he made the right decision (considering his contract). If it was to win a Cup...well yeah, that's not looking so good.

[OccamsRazor]

Nashville begged and begged Jason Spezza to come to Tennessee, however, he would not do so. (Jason) Spezza would though waive his no trade for the Dallas Stars. However, 19 games in and a -10, you have to wonder is Spezza may be kicking himself for not moving to Nashville.

 

Well if he did chose wrong he didn't just do it once he just did it twice...............resigning for a boatload.

[Zz_]

Well if he did chose wrong he didn't just do it once he just did it twice...............resigning for a boatload.

Oh yeah, funny you write something up and BAM, something happens haha. 

 

I think that @fanaticV3.0 had a valid point, Spezza wanted away from the hot Canadian market. Saw Dallas seemed to be doing well, and Nashville had missed the playoffs the last three years, they are a younger organization and have never won a cup...much less make it to the 2nd round of the Playoffs. Dallas has been around since their days in Minnesota, they have A cup, but they also have some GREAT guys up front. If you dangle, Jamie Benn, Seguin and a mixture of other decent talent against one (un-established) rookie, Shea Weber, (un-established) Seth Jones and Pekka Rinne, I would pick Dallas too based on experience. Yet, if you have time to look long term, I personally would say Nashville. However, I do believe a lot of the moves were made after Spezza declined to waive his NTC, which benefited Nashville. They trade for Spezza I say Preds bottom five in west, to be honest. 

[yave1964]

@

Nashville knocked out Anaheim in the playoffs a few years ago so yeah, they have made it out of the first round. Finally.

I think Spezza decided on Dallas for the reasons mentioned, he would have had the pressure of being on the top line in Nashville, in Dallas he is second fiddle in a city where football comes first, second and third, hockey is way down the line but they are loaded with young talent. If they don't win, nobody could seriously blame Spezza. Now with his extension he should finish his career in obscurity on a second line.

[Zz_]

@

Nashville knocked out Anaheim in the playoffs a few years ago so yeah, they have made it out of the first round. Finally.

I think Spezza decided on Dallas for the reasons mentioned, he would have had the pressure of being on the top line in Nashville, in Dallas he is second fiddle in a city where football comes first, second and third, hockey is way down the line but they are loaded with young talent. If they don't win, nobody could seriously blame Spezza. Now with his extension he should finish his career in obscurity on a second line.

 

@yave1964 - you are correct my friend, forgot the 2010-11 post-season (Avalanche ended up with the #2 pick - Gabe Landeskog) wasn't a season I much paid attention to. Ha.....