Addition by subtraction?

[FireMelnyk]

I only really miss Spezza on the PP and the shoot out.

I find our PP looks a lot better. Better entries, better setup, more variety and more zone time.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I find our PP looks a lot better. Better entries, better setup, more variety and more zone time.

Agreed. The days of forcing passes through 5 sticks every other play on the PP is over thank God. When it worked it was magical but once every 15 PP's.

Spezza was way more useful on 5on5 offense than PP offense, imo.

 

[FireMelnyk]

We're also currently on pace to match last year's goal totals and reduce the goals against by 65!

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I find our PP looks a lot better. Better entries, better setup, more variety and more zone time.

If we could get the guys to move their feet a bit more on the PP and be a little bit more crisp with the passing, our powerplay will really get going.

 

[SlapJack]

I said it before the season started, this team is better without Spezza. His offense does not cover the massive amount of goals scored against when he's on the ice. He never seemed to get much smarter with more experience and still tried risky plays without considering who was on the ice and what point of the game it was.

There were too many players in the mix before that had defensive shortcomings one way or another, and Spezza was the worst to lead that group. Karlsson taking chances and getting burnt is one thing, both those guys on the ice together was too much.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I said it before the season started, this team is better without Spezza. His offense does not cover the massive amount of goals scored against when he's on the ice. He never seemed to get much smarter with more experience and still tried risky plays without considering who was on the ice and what point of the game it was.

There were too many players in the mix before that had defensive shortcomings one way or another, and Spezza was the worst to lead that group. Karlsson taking chances and getting burnt is one thing, both those guys on the ice together was too much.

Makes you wonder what this team would look like now if it was Karlsson that was traded instead of Spezza.

What kind of package of players would we have now with that kind of trade?
What style would the team play?

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Valid, but what about the past instances? He's certainly had his share of absences.

I was always rather indifferent to Spezza.

his other huge absence was the shortened season, where our goalies were playing like they are now. this is a goalie thing.. because our two way /defensive game sure as heck hasnt improved without spezza, its just as bad giving up just as many shots.

 

[harvey]

The stats speak for themselves.

We are 101 point pace without Spezza past 3 years.

Let it be known though that I'm talking about recent Spezza not the Spezza of 3-4 years ago.

A lot of it has to do with structure of the team too. The structure that the Sens are playing now which is overly successful doesn't match Spezza's style of play. Even then, he has never been the best go-to-option on forward to lead a team far. He's a great player who's time here was done prematurely due to injuries and inability to play the style the rest of the team was playing.

You also have to allow for the subtle changes to the way the game is being played, the way penalties are being called etc. The game is much faster now, and Spezza is just not suited for the fast game.... Power Play and Shoot out specialist is what he has become.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

You also have to allow for the subtle changes to the way the game is being played, the way penalties are being called etc. The game is much faster now, and Spezza is just not suited for the fast game.... Power Play and Shoot out specialist is what he has become.

Very well said. This is the era of 2 way talent and elite 5on5 play with speed to burn.

 

[Sensinitis]

his other huge absence was the shortened season, where our goalies were playing like they are now. this is a goalie thing.. because our two way /defensive game sure as heck hasnt improved without spezza, its just as bad giving up just as many shots.

our two way game is tenfolds better...

what are you even talking about...

 

[dumbdick]

I'm happy to be rid of Spezza. He was like the super hot trophy girlfriend who always cheats on you and talks about the big bang theory.

 

[dumbdick]

Spezza was the one player in Sens history where I really thought "this guy could be the best player in the league if he ever puts it all together". I wouldn't even say that about Karlsson. It just never came.

 

[Samsquanch]

Win/Loss ratio aside, can anyone disagree that this team doesn't play a harder, more complete game without Spez in the lineup?

To me its obvious that the team competes harder and is more responsible when its sans Spezza. He brings offense, and a lot of it, but with him playing 1/3 of the game and being involved in all of the key situations, it has a dramatic impact on the style of play that defines our team.

He might only be 1 man on a 22 man roster, but his decisions (for better or worse) had an enormous impact on our overall team performance. When Spezza was in the lineup, and Spezza was slumping, the team was slumping. When he was playing like the player he was always touted to be, we were a force to be reckoned with. We had a lot of spoiled years that came as a result of Spezza's talent as a young player.

Great player, but too inconsistent without the puck to be anything more than a supporting player (sheltered minutes) on a contending team. Love Spez, but just not as the captain and face of this franchise. I think we cut ties at the absolute perfect time for both us and him.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Win/Loss ratio aside, can anyone disagree that this team doesn't play a harder, more complete game without Spez in the lineup?

To me its obvious that the team competes harder and is more responsible when its sans Spezza. He brings offense, and a lot of it, but with him playing 1/3 of the game and being involved in all of the key situations, it has a dramatic impact on the style of play that defines our team.

He might only be 1 man on a 22 man roster, but his decisions (for better or worse) had an enormous impact on our overall team performance. When Spezza was in the lineup, and Spezza was slumping, the team was slumping. When he was playing like the player he was always touted to be, we were a force to be reckoned with. We had a lot of spoiled years that came as a result of Spezza's talent as a young player.

Great player, but too inconsistent without the puck to be anything more than a supporting player (sheltered minutes) on a contending team. Love Spez, but just not as the captain and face of this franchise. I think we cut ties at the absolute perfect time for both us and him.

For now, yes. But, I'm seeing the same bad habits team-wise start to creep up again.

When Spezza was in the lineup, the most of the guys sat back and waited for him to generate most of the offense. Now, many of the guys are starting to sit back and wait for Karlsson to drive everything.

We're not going to be successful long-term if the guys sit back and rely on 1-2 guys to be the engine of the team. We need all the forward lines pushing the way the Kid Line did against Chicago, and we need the rest of our D to be more assertive passing the puck up the ice. Not saying our D need to be like Erik and go on epic rushes up the ice or anything, but they really need to start making a stronger, more aggressive first pass out of our zone.

We need to generate offense by committee. To do that, everyone has to pull up their boots and do their part.