The summer of Spezza rolls on, and now it's The Hockey News' Ken Campbell weighing in on why the captain and the Ottawa Senators are parting ways.
For the most part, we've heard that the split is mutual. Sportsnet's Brad May had a different angle, suggesting that Spezza sort of soured on the situation because Ottawa wasn't ready to commit to winning in the short-term.
Ken Campbell's theory is sort of a blend of the two. Again, I have no idea if it's true or not, but I find it fascinating that different theories are starting to be circulated. I guess that's the reality when one-side has basically been silent on the whole ordeal, leaving just the other side to talk to the media about what's going on.
According to sources close to Spezza, the scenario went down a little differently than it’s being portrayed. In his exit interview with Murray, Spezza laid his cards on the table. He told Murray that if the Senators were intent on a quick rebuild and were in the acquisition mode in terms of bringing in top-end talent, he wanted to be a part of it. But if the plan was to tear down the roster and rebuild the team with young players and draft picks, it might be best for the organization to maximize his value now and that he would not stand in the way of a deal involving him, provided it was not to one of the 10 teams in his modified no-trade clause.But at no time did he make any demands, according to those close to Spezza. He loves Ottawa and would have been happy to stay. He likes Murray and has had a good relationship with him and the feelings are mutual. Murray would probably prefer not to deal Spezza, but sees that the player will be an unrestricted free agent in a year and knows the best thing for the organization would be to get return for him now rather than as a rental at the trade deadline if the Senators are out of the playoff picture.
This, like the talks about a mutual parting of ways and reluctance to stick around with a team that might be on shaky ground next year, seems fairly reasonable. When you're weighing stuff like this, I think the first thing you have to ask is whether or not the story as it's being told is in the realm of what we know about the situation. I'd say this fits.
I'm not sure if Campbell's to be trusted more than anyone else on the situation here, but in the event that he has some of this story accurate, it's a bit worrisome to hear about a team that's heading back into the rebuild cycle -- to some extent, anyway. This is a team that's good enough to reach the post-season, and I think Bryan Murray knows it. The problem is that to accomplish such a feat, it's going to take one of two things: (1) spending to retain talent/spending to sign external talent/being aggressive buyers on the trade-market to fill the couple of voids that crippled the team last year; or (2) waiting on younger players to develop.
Ottawa seems to be choosing (2) here, which isn't entirely bad. They genuinely believe Mika Zibanejad can take the next step soon, and I'd guess that they are hoping Curtis Lazar can make the team next year, and be another big piece for the club down the road. Ottawa, for all of its problems, does a pretty bang-up job with drafting/development.
But, if this is true -- I'm not sure what it says about the 2014-2015 season, individually. Might be a bit of a rough road.