Ottawa Senators

[larrylintz]

How could you possibly know no one wanted Spezza? It's not like playmaking centres with size grow on trees. There is no way to know that because Murray sent out a message to the world that he wasn't open to trading him to an eastern team, cutting market in half.

[Hoopo]

I was pretty pissed that so much of the Ottawa fanbase turned on Spezza. He was one of my faves for a lot of years. I'm glad he's found a home in Dallas.

[larrylintz]

He was certainly fun to watch, especially when he and karlsson worked their magic. But i think it would have been a bad idea to re-sign him . I just wish we'd leveraged that to a little more in return.

[Mr. Guru]

Nashville had a deal on the table.

Hornqvist and something else.
But spezza refused. He had Nashville on his 10 team no trade clause.

[larrylintz]

fascinating that Nashville was offering Hornqvist-plus, who later was traded for all-star Neal, but no one else besides Dallas was interested. What are the odds of that?

[newfcollins]

fascinating that Nashville was offering Hornqvist-plus, who later was traded for all-star Neal, but no one else besides Dallas was interested. What are the odds of that?

It is quite possible other teams were interested but Ottawa took what they thought was the best deal. The Sens did get Chiasson, Paul, another prospect and a second rounder. Which is a pretty good haul when you think about it.

[larrylintz]

agreed, but i wonder whether Dallas would have given up their 1st round pick had Ottawa not insisted insisted on the other parts, though i conceded that we didn't know their pick was going to be so high. But who knows, maybe that 2nd round pick will pan out.

[larrylintz]

does anyone know wtf the story was with HOffman staying on for the last 1:32 of the Canes game? did he refuse to go off, or was cameron indulging him at the expense of his team? that was bizarro.

[Big Ev]

agreed, but i wonder whether Dallas would have given up their 1st round pick had Ottawa not insisted insisted on the other parts, though i conceded that we didn't know their pick was going to be so high. But who knows, maybe that 2nd round pick will pan out.

Probably not but Paul and Gagne is good enough for me. A 1st is a lottery pick.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm curious to see what we're going to get for Hoffman as he is definitely going to be traded. I bet you he ends up one of those guys who bounces around from team to team every year or two. I have no confidence in his game whatsoever and there's no way he's going to get a long term deal from anybody.

[Zorro]

The Sens did pretty good in that trade.. Spezza didn't want to be in Ottawa, so it was time to cut bait..

And Neal was only an all-star because others(Wheeler) refused and the game was in Nashville..

For the record, I respect Big Ev's passion for his favorite NHL team..

[The Comish]

Stupid Karlsson for being so good. Wicked shot to win in OT tonight against the Wild. I had Dubnyk all set for the W and ZBad ties it up with like 8 seconds left and then stupid talented Karlsson FTW...FML (I'm just learning about these, so bear with me).

[JagrBomb]

It is quite possible other teams were interested but Ottawa took what they thought was the best deal. The Sens did get Chiasson, Paul, another prospect and a second rounder. Which is a pretty good haul when you think about it.

no it isn't. unless you factor in cap space which really shouldn't be considered given spezza's contract was ending soon.

if Paul pans out it might make the trade look better. or perhaps whoever they got with the 2nd rounder.

but chiasson? you'll find a hundred similar guys available as UFAs this summer.

murray's mistake was limiting trading him to the West. i've never understood this logic, why prevent yourself from getting the best deal possible? making your team better > having to face that player less times in the other conference.

Dallas is 2nd in the NHL...what a luxury to have Spezza as your #2C.

[Big Ev]

no it isn't. unless you factor in cap space which really shouldn't be considered given spezza's contract was ending soon.

if Paul pans out it might make the trade look better. or perhaps whoever they got with the 2nd rounder.

but chiasson? you'll find a hundred similar guys available as UFAs this summer.

murray's mistake was limiting trading him to the West. i've never understood this logic, why prevent yourself from getting the best deal possible? making your team better > having to face that player less times in the other conference.

Dallas is 2nd in the NHL...what a luxury to have Spezza as your #2C.

The trade was fine because he was not going to re-sign in Ottawa and he asked for a trade for a second or third time. I don't really care what they got for him, I was just glad to get rid of him period. Doesn't matter to me if none of the pieces work out because the alternative was getting nothing.

Again there is a) no proof that they limited their options to the West and b) he had little value as a 1 year "rental" with injury history. The Sens or I would have no problem facing him more times if he was in the East.

We all know Dallas is a pretender with no team defence. Spezza is only going to finish with around 60 points with a lot of that being from being on a PP with Seguin, Benn, and Klingberg. He's a good #2 centre but it was definitely time for Ottawa to move on as they already had a younger, better two-way centre in their lineup, at a much cheaper cost. And we want guys who want to be here, not guys who can't handle the pressure of a Canadian market. I wouldn't want Spezza as a top six centre on my team in the playoffs.

[JagrBomb]

The trade was fine because he was not going to re-sign in Ottawa and he asked for a trade for a second or third time. I don't really care what they got for him, I was just glad to get rid of him period. Doesn't matter to me if none of the pieces work out because the alternative was getting nothing.

Again there is a) no proof that they limited their options to the West and b) he had little value as a 1 year "rental" with injury history. The Sens or I would have no problem facing him more times if he was in the East.

We all know Dallas is a pretender with no team defence. Spezza is only going to finish with around 60 points with a lot of that being from being on a PP with Seguin, Benn, and Klingberg. He's a good #2 centre but it was definitely time for Ottawa to move on as they already had a younger, better two-way centre in their lineup, at a much cheaper cost. And we want guys who want to be here, not guys who can't handle the pressure of a Canadian market. I wouldn't want Spezza as a top six centre on my team in the playoffs.

my point is that murray got a bad return on spezza. everyone could see that the moment it happened, and it's pretty clear now although we can't judge the deal fully until paul/pick develop more.

given the choice would you rather be on the 2nd best NHL team "pretending" to be a contender vs a bottom 10 team that misses the playoffs yet again? at least Spezza has a shot at the cup now, and no matter how little you like Dallas chance in the postseason, it's still much better odds than the Sens winning.

[Big Ev]

my point is that murray got a bad return on spezza. everyone could see that the moment it happened, and it's pretty clear now although we can't judge the deal fully until paul/pick develop more.
given the choice would you rather be on the 2nd best NHL team "pretending" to be a contender vs a bottom 10 team that misses the playoffs yet again? at least Spezza has a shot at the cup now, and no matter how little you like Dallas chance in the postseason, it's still much better odds than the Sens winning.

Uh, just last year with Spezza the Stars missed the playoffs and the Sens made it. So he had a better shot last year with the Sens, better shot this year with the Stars. The Sens have been far more successful than Dallas over the last decade in terms of playoff appearances (both don't win much when they make it) so the Sens "missing the playoffs yet again" is a pretty ignorant comment.

Regardless "better shot at the cup" is not why Spezza wasn't going to re-sign in Ottawa and it's not why he signed in Dallas. He wanted to go to a low-pressure environment and be a #2 guy because he can't handle being the #1 in a big market.