The Ottawa Senators were given an additional punch to their collective groin last week when their captain, Jason Spezza announced that he wished to be traded from the capital city.
Citing several reasons, that included (allegedly) frustrations about being blamed for the Sens struggles, Spezza’s request was confirmed by general manager Bryan Murray. Ideally Murray said that he would like to move him to the Western Conference so that “we won’t have to play him every night”, but it may not be that easy.
Spezza is coming off an average year offensively, 66 points in 75 games, turned 31 last Friday and will carry a $7 million cap hit for whomever will acquire his services. With the salary cap expected to bump up in the neighborhood of $69 million, finding a fit that meets all criteria could be challenging.
The former number two overall pick in the 2001 draft has played 11 seasons with the Senators, peaking in the 2007-08 season when he hit career highs in goals (34) and points (92). He helped lead the Senators to their only Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2007, but fell to the Anaheim Ducks in five games.
There will be plenty of teams that will inquire about the services of the Ottawa captain, but here are the top five destinations.
5. Phoenix Coyotes-The desert dogs really don’t have a marquee center that fits into the number one mold. Spezza could fit nicely into the lineup and add some scoring punch to the Coyotes. Phoenix is notoriously thrifty so they might look to move someone like Martin Erat or Mike Ribeiro back to Ottawa to offset the Spezza salary.
4. Nashville Predators-The Preds made a bold decision to part ways with the only coach they have ever known in Barry Trotz. Though Trotz had considerable success in Music City, the Predators were always known as a defense-first team. With new coach Peter Laviolette, the Predators are hoping to play a more offensive style and Spezza could bring that. Nashville has plenty of cap space and could throw a combination of players and draft picks to lure the disgruntled center to Nashville.
3. San Jose Sharks-With rumors swirling around every San Jose player not named Joe Pavelski or Logan Couture the Sharks could immediately get younger (just slightly) by swapping their captain with Ottawa’s. Joe Thornton has been rumored to be leaving the bay area and a fresh start anywhere else could suit Jumbo Joe as well as Spezza.
2. Colorado Avalanche-The Avs are one of the most exciting young teams in the NHL right now. If Jason Spezza joined the Avs, he might literally be the third center on the depth chart behind Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly. That being said, Colorado has some salary that they would love to dump in the form of P.A. Parenteau and Alex Tanguay. If they could convince Bryan Murray to take those two players with a nice draft pick package, Spezza could be a great fit in Colorado.
1. Minnesota Wild-The Wild are a team that Spezza could literally join tomorrow and center a line with Zach Parise and Jason Pominville. Mikko Koivu would certainly welcome the addition of another top-flight center to take some of the faceoffs. The Wild have a ton of cap space and could certainly use the offense. With a pair of prolific wings, there is no reason to believe that Spezza could produce at the point-per-game pace that he has averaged throughout his career.