Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: jason+spezza
Spezza Becoming A Complete Player
by Paul on 10/20/09 at 06:34 AM ET
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from Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun,
In past years, four assists in seven games for Spezza would have pretty much indicated a disaster for the Senators, given their reliance on him, captain Daniel Alfredsson and former winger Dany Heatley, who supplied the offence on a top-heavy group of forwards.
The offence is now spread out, giving Spezza time to adjust to some significant role changes.
After playing almost every game over four seasons with Heatley, and many with Alfredsson, Spezza is adjusting to new linemates Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo, who came over from the San Jose Sharks in the Heatley trade.
Spezza’s defensive contribution has expanded. He’s getting a chance to kill penalties and take some big faceoffs, which is paying off for the Senators. Spezza leads the club with a 56.9 winning percentage on faceoffs.
His defensive game has grown thanks to his skating and work ethic, both of which look to have improved this season.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Anything For A Story?
by Paul on 07/21/09 at 06:59 AM ET
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from Ian Mendes of Sportsnet,
There have been some hints from the Ottawa media that suggest several members plan on crashing Jason Spezza’s upcoming wedding in an attempt to force Dany Heatley to speak.
Personally, I think as a media group we need to act with some class and show a little respect for someone’s special day. Unfortunately, those two words (class & respect) aren’t in many reporters’ vocabularies and it’s a big reason why we are wedged comfortably between telemarketers and personal injury lawyers on the scale of likable professionals....
Jason has asked all of us to respect his privacy on his special day and not show up. He’s hired security to make sure no unauthorized guests (hint, hint, media) try to sneak in. He couldn’t make it any more clear: “I’m nice to you guys 364 days a year. Please give me one day off.”
But I can’t shake the nagging feeling that pack journalism is going to rule the day. Everyone is going to be scared that the competition is going to get the scoop, so we better head to the wedding ourselves.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Dany+Heatley, Jason+Spezza,
How About This One? Spezza For Thornton
by Paul on 05/02/09 at 06:27 PM ET
Comments (9)
from Don Brennan of Off The Posts at the Ottawa Sun,
It was suggested to me this morning by a friend in the business that the Senators and Sharks might want to consider a 1-for-1, high-profile trade that would give each team a significant shake on the heels of a disappointing season: Jason Spezza for Joe Thornton.
Spezza, who is 25, is listed as 6-foot-2, 206 pounds. He has 418 points in 404 regular season games. He has 39 points in 40 playoff games. He’ll make $8 million for each of the next four years.
Thornton, who is 29, is listed as 6-foot-4, 235 pounds. He has scored 842 points in 836 regular season games. He has 53 points (and just 12 goals) in 76 playoff games. He’ll make $7.2 million for each of the next two seasons.My opinion: The younger Spezza has more upside. But if the cap goes down, as expected, that salary could be a real handicap.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza, Joe+Thornton,
Spezza Caught With Skinny Blade
by Paul on 03/10/09 at 07:23 AM ET
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from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,
With 2:16 left in the third period, the Leafs coach asked for a measurement on Senators centre Jason Spezza’s stick, questioning the width of the blade.
While Spezza was found guilty of using an illegal stick, the Leafs were unable to score on the ensuing power play and the Senators pulled off their third straight victory with a slim 2-1 decision in front of only 18,898 fans (The last time the Senators didn’t sell out a Toronto game was Dec. 5, 2005, when only 18,860 were on hand).
“The boys did a good job of killing that for me. You don’t want to see them score when you get a penalty for a call like that,” said Spezza, who had an assist on Heatley’s goal. “Nobody here knows the rules. I don’t know what the clarification is. We still never got an answer. (Refereee Dan O’Halloran) just told me it was too skinny. It’s apparently too skinny. Real dangerous, I guess.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
No Plans To Trade Spezza
by Paul on 01/17/09 at 10:09 PM ET
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from Ian Mendes of Sportsnet,
Jason Spezza has been a lightning rod for criticism in Ottawa this season, but Senators general manager Bryan Murray has no intention of trading his superstar centre.
“I don’t know that you’d ever not trade anyone, but Jason is not on the trading block,” Murray told Sportsnet prior to Saturday’s home game against the Montreal Canadiens. “He is a guy that you should be able to build a hockey team around."…
“He’s a good player on this hockey club. I don’t know how you acquire another guy like this if you trade him away,” continued Murray. “My intent is not to do that. I think the core here is a good core. We just have to help them a little bit in a couple areas.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
TSN Panel Chimes In
by Paul on 01/14/09 at 10:31 PM ET
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from TSN,
Each week, the NHL on TSN panel voices their opinions on the hot topics of the day in the Wednesday Night Hockey Quiz.
Question No. 1: Is Jason Spezza part of the problem or the solution in Ottawa?
Keith Jones: He is part of the solution. He’s only 25 years old and has a tremendous amount of upside and skill is the key word....
Bob McKenzie: I agree. Spezza needs to be part of the solution. There’s no question he’s had some shortcomings and flaws in his game but are the fatal? No, build your team around what he gives you offensively and fill in the holes. Defensively and all the rest of the things you need elsewhere.
read on with more Q & A…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Thinking Of Spezza In Edmonton
by Paul on 11/16/08 at 08:17 AM ET
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from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,
I know the Senators are more inclined to deal winger Antoine Vemette before anybody else for a puck-moving D-man, but how is that going to shake things up in Ottawa? Believe me, the earthquake will only happen when they move centre Jason Spezza. I think the Oilers would be interested
more hockey notes
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Is It Time To Move Spezza
by Paul on 11/15/08 at 07:25 PM ET
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from Scott Cullen of TSN,
What kind of package could the Blackhawks offer for Spezza? It’s not as easy as it sounds when the two most similar salaries in Chicago belong to winger Martin Havlat and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, because both will be unrestricted free agents at seasons’s end and it would be downright nuts to trade a long-term asset like Spezza for less than a full season of another player.
Perhaps a deal involving Khabibulin would work if other pieces are involved…
Who else might have the pieces to offer?
Columbus has long been searching for a pivot to join Rick Nash on the number one line and the Jackets probably have enough pieces to make a viable offer if they are willing ot surrender some of their top young prospects.
more with other teams mentioned plus other hockey topics.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Jason, Wanna Come Out & Play
by Paul on 09/23/08 at 10:09 AM ET
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from Elizabeth Payne of the Ottawa Citizen,
According to the local grapevine, children have beaten a path to his front door hoping to catch a glimpse of one of their hockey idols, or, even better, to nab an autograph. And, apparently, Mr. Spezza has charmingly complied in many cases, handing out autographed hockey cards to awe-struck neighbours....
I have no idea what Mr. Spezza, a young hockey star in a country that idolizes hockey players, thinks about the attention his move to the neighbourhood is getting. The fact that he bought a house in a part of the city that is full of children and answers the door when some of them come calling tells me that he sees himself as part of the community, and that is probably as important to the future of the Senators in Ottawa as how the team does this season.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Evening Line
by Paul on 07/22/08 at 07:12 PM ET
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“I’ve lost some good friends in the last couple of months,” he told reporters on the course. “I think we expected it. Any time you lose out early you expect it.”
-Jason Spezza
more from Spezza at TSN…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Sens Extend Spezza
by Paul on 06/19/08 at 10:44 PM ET
Comments (3)
from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,
With all 30 GMs in town for the NHL draft, talk surfaced late yesterday that the Senators were going to send Spezza to the Kings, along with the No. 18 selection in exchange for the No. 2 selection and possibly centre Mike Cammalleri.
No chance, said Senators GM Bryan Murray, who signed Spezza to a seven-year, $49-million US contract extension starting July 1.
added 11:07pm, Sorry for the bad headline. Just spending too many hours chasing information. Spezza was extended earlier this season, my mistake.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Jason Spezza Conference Call Transcript
by Alanah McGinley on 02/11/08 at 05:40 PM ET
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Earlier today Jason Spezza was named “First Star” for the week, after recording 11 points in three games, including a career-high six points against Montreal this past Saturday night. Jason is second on the Senators and fifth in overall National Hockey League scoring with 71 points on 23 goals and 48 assists.
Q. Jason, you guys, you and Alfredsson and Heatley back together again, obviously in that 6-1 win over Montreal, what was the feel that you three had? There was talk of possible rust. What was the feel that you guys had right away in that game?
JASON SPEZZA: Yeah, we had pretty good chemistry together, and we practiced the day before and practiced that morning together. You know, it’s a pretty natural fit for us. We’ve played together now for a couple years, so there’s not too much getting used to each other again. You put us in with same line mates, we read off each other pretty good. I think more than anything I was fired up because it was a big game, Alfie was fired up because he was coming back, and Heater was pretty excited because he just came back the night before, so it was pretty good circumstances for us to play well.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: jason+spezza, media, ottawa+senators, press+conference,
Stars of the Week
by Alanah McGinley on 02/11/08 at 12:26 PM ET
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Ottawa Senators center Jason Spezza, Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin and Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere have been named the NHL’s ‘Three Stars’ for the week ending February 10.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: evgeni+malkin, j.s.+giguere, jason+spezza, stars+of+the+week,
Spezza: NHL Star
by Alanah McGinley on 12/28/07 at 12:42 PM ET
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A Q&A with Jason Spezza by David Amber at ESPN,
Q: If you didn’t play in Ottawa, where do you think you would have the best time being Jason Spezza, NHL star?
A: Well Jason Spezza, “The NHL star,” would have to be somewhere else in Canada, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, just because you get recognized. But I think I would like to play in New York. It’s a city I really like, there is so much going on, there are so many places to hide and do your own thing. Sometimes, the celebrity aspect is nice, but a lot of times it’s nice to hide, too.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza,
Losing As A Team
by Paul on 12/03/07 at 09:17 AM ET
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from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,
“It’s not fair (to blame the goalies). It’s not the goalie’s fault,” said Senators centre Jason Spezza.
“It’s all of our faults. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting points or you’re playing well. It’s every forward. It’s every defenceman and it’s both goalies.
“We’re in this together. I’ve said that the whole time. The only way we’re going to win is if everybody plays well and plays better. We’ve just got to raise our level of play so that we’re a better hockey club.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: jason+spezza, ottawa+senators,
Spezza Plays His Trump Card with Sherwood
by Alanah McGinley on 11/19/07 at 11:22 PM ET
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From Allen Panzeri at CanWest News,
To get Sherwood-Drolet to keep making his sticks in Canada, Spezza had to play his trump card as a longtime, valuable customer. He has been using the company’s sticks since his final years in junior hockey, and he’s also featured on the company’s home page.
“I made it clear with them that, if I was going to continue using their sticks, I wanted to make sure they were still made in the same place they’ve been made for the last seven, eight years,” Spezza said on Monday.
Spezza goes through 300+ sticks a season. As mentioned recently, Sherwood will be discontinuing its production of wooden sticks in Quebec, and having them made in China and Estonia starting in January.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, Hockey Equipment | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: hockey+sticks, Jason+Spezza, ottawa+senators, sherwood,
Spezza Still Has Some Pain
by Paul on 11/13/07 at 07:06 AM ET
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from Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun,
Spezza said he’s still experiencing some pain, which can’t be a good sign. At least he’s got another couple of days before he’ll have to make a decision on the Buffalo game.
“The groin was a little bit sore as practice got going, but (my) wind felt pretty good. If I can take a positive from it, it’s that my wind hasn’t really left me. It hasn’t been that long off so I don’t anticipate that being a problem.”
Senators coach John Paddock isn’t sold yet.
While encouraged to see Spezza make it through practice, he said skating in practice and skating in a game are two different animals.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza, John+Paddock, ottawa+senators,
Spezza Still Out
by Paul on 11/10/07 at 07:49 AM ET
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from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,
Jason Spezza, who was hoping to play today, didn’t take part in the Senators’ workout, and is now aiming to return to action Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres. “He wouldn’t be playing if this was a playoff game,” said coach John Paddock. “I thought there might be some consideration (to him playing today) based on how he was thinking ... Until he can practise with the team for 60 minutes hard then he’s not close to playing. I hope he’s on the ice with us Monday or Tuesday at the latest.”
more on the Sens…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza, ottawa+senators,
Report- Sens Sign Spezza To Extension
by Paul on 11/02/07 at 11:27 AM ET
Comments (1)
via TSN,
The Ottawa Senators have indicated they will make a significant announcement this morning and sources tell TSN centre Jason Spezza has been signed a multi-year contract extension. More details to follow.
update 11:38am, from Bob McKenzie of TSN,
Jason Spezza has a new seven-year contract extension worth $49 million with the Ottawa Senators.
Spezza will get $8 million in each of the first five years of the contract and $5 million and $4 million, respectively, in the final two years. The cap hit will be $7 million per year for the Senators.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza, ottawa+senators,
Senators’ Spezza Possibly Out
by Alanah McGinley on 10/31/07 at 05:26 PM ET
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From CBC,
Ottawa Senators star Jason Spezza missed practice Wednesday, and might miss Thursday night’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers because of a slight groin pull.
He sat out practice after suffering the injury during Tuesday’s skate. He has one goal and 12 assists in 10 games, the second-highest points total on the team.
“It happened yesterday [Tuesday] and right now it doesn’t feel that good,” Spezza told reporters Wednesday. “We’re just going to kind of take it day by day.”
Meanwhile, veteran forward Dean McAmmond declared himself fit to play. He has missed all 10 games this season while recovering from a concussion and shoulder injury suffered when Philadelphia Flyers forward Steve Downie ran into him in pre-season.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: dean+mcammond, injuries, jason+spezza, ottawa+senators,
Spezza Searching For Goal Number One
by Paul on 10/17/07 at 08:20 AM ET
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from the Ottawa Sun,
Going into last night’s games, Spezza led the NHL in assists with 11 and sat second in scoring, behind Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg, who’s had five goals as part of his 13 points.
Spezza was the only player in the league’s top 44 scorers that has yet to light the lamp.
Also baffling to Spezza is the fact he’s 11th in shots, with 24. Last season, he had the league’s second-best shooting percentage behind Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal, scoring 34 times on just 162 offerings for a 21% connection rate.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza, ottawa+senators,
Spezza Next In Line
by Paul on 10/05/07 at 04:12 PM ET
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from Pierre LeBrun at Sportsnet,
If Jason Spezza ends up as a RFA come July 1, Kevin Lowe will no longer be the lone rogue GM filing offer sheets on hot commodities.
With Dany Heatley taken care of, the focus for the Ottawa Senators shifts to linemate Jason Spezza, a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
A deal won’t get done soon. Spezza’s agent Rick Curran will probably wait until the New Year to get serious talks going, giving his client time to build up yet another monster season. That’ll give him just a tad more leverage in talks.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Spezza, ottawa+senators,
Spezza Primed for Scoring Race
by Alanah McGinley on 09/30/07 at 11:45 AM ET
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From Don Brennan at the Ottawa Sun,
Earlier this week, Jason Spezza shook his head in bewilderment as he told teammates of a meeting he had just finished up with an equipment rep.
“He’s telling me I’d be 15% better (of a player) with a different mouth guard,” the Senators centre said, chuckling.
Now, we’re not exactly sure how that works, either, but if that’s truly the case, Sidney Crosby should hope Spezza sticks with what he’s wearing. Fifteen percent more of him would cost the Pittsburgh star the scoring race.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: jason+spezza, ottawa+senators,
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