It kind of kills me that the next five weeks are going to be (a) discussion about where Jason Spezza's going to be traded; then (b) trying to figure out how this team lines up with the newly acquired pieces in whichever team lands Ottawa's captain. Though I hesitate to say a deal is guaranteed -- I think this team could sit tight if no offer is reasonable until the trade deadline -- it certainly feels extremely probable.
Basically anyone and everyone with an ear to the NHL or the Ottawa Senators has more or less said that Jason Spezza's going to be traded. Locally, we've been suspicious of this since at least January, and Bryan Murray sort of dumped gasoline on that fire at the trade deadline. The first national guy I remember talking about it was Elliotte Friedman. This exchange happened just after the season ended.
The great Hope Smoke on Twitter transcribed a follow-up interview with Elliotte Friedman this morning. I've captured the more important parts, but I encourage you to check out the entire thing.
Friedman "the team I heard was really in on him was Anaheim"
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) May 13, 2014Friedman "I wonder if Calgary would be interested [in Spezza]. Calgary is looking for offense now, do you take a 1 year flyer on that guy?"
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) May 13, 2014Friedman "I think Stl is definitely in on that [Spezza]. They're desperately looking for offense and so is Nashville"
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) May 13, 2014Friedman "I wonder if the Sens open a window allowing teams to negotiate"
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) May 13, 2014Friedman "If the Sens are giving up Spezza they'll look for youth because that's the way they always go. They're not a cap team"
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) May 13, 2014Friedman "I think the Sens look for offense because they questions about Hemsky staying. Also looking for a defensive D"
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) May 13, 2014So, the biggest thing I can add to this exchange is that we haven't heard Calgary before as a potential suitor. Anaheim and St. Louis still strike me as the runaway favorites here, moreso the latter. We have heard speculation about Nashville and Florida making a bid. Bruce Garrioch, just today, even threw in New York.
Friedman went on to talk about whether or not there would be a big market (or, I guess, demand) for Jason Spezza, and theorized there would be. I tend to agree. I think fans need to be cautionary about what a potential return would be: Bryan Murray's set his anchor at a first-round pick, a prospect, and a player, but I'm sort of skeptical they can land all three of those for a guy with just one year left on his deal. If they can, it's very possible the prospect will be a second-tier type.
I stand by St. Louis as the team that makes the best offer when that time approaches. They're desperate, they've got the pieces, they need the offense, and their Stanley Cup window is now.
And one other note: talk about getting a "defensive defenseman" is terrifying, mostly because more often than not, getting a "defensive defenseman" really means "getting a bad defenseman". This is worse than getting a "hard forward", which was the talk two months ago.
Thanks for reading!