Player Discussion Jason Spezza

[LT]

How are we feeling about him so far this season? Seems to be mixed reviews.

I've been a fan. His skating is better, he's getting points so far, and I feel like he's definitely improved from last season so far.

I'm not sure he should be our #2 center, though. The only issue is there's nowhere else for him to go - he sucks at wing, Faksa is the #3 center, and the fourth line is also a bad fit. Not really sure what the best option is for him.

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[serp]

He's good with skilled players to feed the puck to so yeah on the 3rd of 4th he would make no sense.

 

[Smelling Salt]

Not a fan of needing him to be 2nd line centre but like you said, the Stars are stuck with him.

I think this could be mitigated by being able to keep Radulov as his linemate but that would would require someone to catch fire with Benn and Seguin. Not sure who that would be. Not sure there is anyone.

Of course what we really need is one of the Bread Man, Stone, Duchesne etc.

 

[LT]

Nyquist seems to be cheap and I think he'd be a great fit on the RW for either the first or second line. Could help Spezza tremendously.

 

[Kcb12345]

4 points in 5 games so far. Needs to contribute more at even strength and score some goals. Tough to blame him though when he and Nichushkin look good but get under 10 minutes of even strength ice time

 

[Robert Kentwood]

Powerplay specialist.

 

[Kalamazoo Wings]

I didn't like him as a player before he came to Dallas. I gave him the obligatory support but he's doing very little to keep my support.

Ride out the 1 year left I guess, hopefully he can provide some type of useful roll as a depth scorer. However it remains to be seen.

 

[SourTemplePilot]

Spez leaves little to be desired outside of the PP, still.

His skating has improved but opposing lineups are still making him look dated (especially in top 6 role).

His shot is nowhere near where it used to be, AND his stick seems like it's 10 feet long.

How can one create secondary offense in this league with that formula making over $7 million per season?

Ride out the storm this year with him and bon voyage. Thank you for your service.

Note: He did play ok against Ottawa. He had one of best shifts for the Stars in the 1st with Nuke and Rads, but outside of that? Not much.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

When he’s not getting points he’s been invisible. Let’s just limit his time on ice to powerplay and offensive zone starts. He’s off the books in a year.

 

[Blindsummit]

Alas he's missed a couple of important one on one breakaway chances now, including that one right now against New Jersey. If he'd put those away I'd have said he was providing value. However.........

 

[Kalamazoo Wings]

^ exactly, he's gotta bury some of those to provide any value. Him chiselling secondary assists on the PP isn't good enough.

Over or under his 8 goals from last year... anyone? Sadly I say under and imminent retirement to follow.

 

[Blindsummit]

^ exactly, he's gotta bury some of those to provide any value. Him chiselling secondary assists on the PP isn't good enough.

Over or under his 8 goals from last year... anyone? Sadly I say under and imminent retirement to follow.

I have to say under. He may not even last the season.

 

[Troy McClure]

Wrong thread.

Spezza sucks.

 

[hairylikebear]

Spezza ... lol

If he is not dead last in every possession or transition metric, then I'll know advanced stats still have a long way to go.

I have never seen a player turn it over this reliably. He's worse than Steve Ott.

 

[Kcb12345]

He was our best/most dangerous offensive player in the game tonight. Shows how bad we were

 

[hairylikebear]

He was our best/most dangerous offensive player in the game tonight. Shows how bad we were

I don't think anyone in this league is afraid of a Spezza shot or breakaway,

 

[WhoahNow]

I don't think anyone in this league is afraid of a Spezza shot or breakaway,

The people sitting behind the net should be

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

Unfortunately, we are stuck with him. Don't know if he would waive for a deadline trade to a team needing a depth forward for a playoff run, but doubt we get more than a third for him if he does.

We knew the last year or two of his deal would probably by ugly. Here it is. And, look forward to a replay with Bishop, Rads, Tyler and Jamie as well. Thank God, mostly varying years.

 

[HatchtrickBateman]

To me it just seems his body can’t keep up. You can tell he still has the creativity/iq, but he just has no finish/ability :/

 

[BfantZ]

Spezza still has it in him IMO . He didn’t look any worse than the rest of the team the last two games . The first two games he looked good as did most of the team . I do think it might be a good idea to move him to the wing though . Ruff put him on the right side with benn and seguin a lot and they always had good chemistry .

 

[LT]

Spezza still has it in him IMO . He didn’t look any worse than the rest of the team the last two games . The first two games he looked good as did most of the team . I do think it might be a good idea to move him to the wing though . Ruff put him on the right side with benn and seguin a lot and they always had good chemistry .

Seguin was always the one pushed to the wing when those three were together. Spezza has looked awful on the wing historically.

 

[JeffP]

Nazem Kadri? Am I reaching? he's out of favor and they need to shed salary.

 

[Zrhutch]

He has 4 points in 6 games and is 35. I don’t know what y’all are expecting from him.

 

[Frozen Failure]

He has 4 points in 6 games and is 35. I don’t know what y’all are expecting from him.

I don't think Spezza's been all that bad. 4 in 6 is respectable numbers out of a guy expected to put up 45-55 points. The problem is he is the ONLY ONE outside of the 4 regular lamp lighters to be on pace for points above 45. He needs a competent collection of linemates, and he's not getting that here. Nuke, Comeau, Ritchie, Shore, Janmark, Smith, Dickinson, Hintz and even Pitlick have not been impact players on the NHL scoresheet this year.

There's no middle ground, and none of these guys can seem to find some level of play that translates to success.

So honestly let's stop bitching about how Spezza is underwhelming with 4 points in 6 games when he's surrounded by barely NHL competent play.

 

[Zrhutch]

^we’re 100% in agreement. I’m not saying that we can’t improve on him or whatever but he’s not the issue.