After Jason Spezza was traded to the Dallas Stars in the summer of 2014, I never thought there was a chance that he would ever come back to Ottawa. He was captain of the team in his final season, but he left unceremoniously, as a vocal portion of the fanbase wanted him gone. Although the trade return was horrendous, moving on from him wasn’t the worst idea because he was going to be expensive but had plenty of injury concerns. It’s shocking to me that it has almost been five years since he left already, and the four-year extension he signed with the Stars is up on July 1st.
With him being a UFA, we might actually have to wonder...could the Senators and Spezza be willing to have a reunion?
Saying that out loud to myself would have sounded crazy just two days ago, but after hearing what Spezza had to say about the possibility of it, perhaps there’s more to this than we originally thought:
To me, that looks like Spezza has already thought about possibly returning. This isn’t a question that caught him off-guard, and I was surprised to see him say that he left on good terms, just because I assumed he didn’t like how he left. Obviously I (and others) was wrong. It’s not as if he is being committal by saying that he only wants to sign in Ottawa, but I’m sure he is intrigued by finishing his career as a Senator and being a mentor for younger players. At the same time, I have to think that he would be looking at offers from contenders if any of them want to sign him.
People have always talked about a reunion with Spezza in the past, but I didn’t think he would want to return, and I wasn’t so sure that Ottawa would even want to sign him. However, it looks like it might just be up to the Senators in free agency. If they are able to offer him a decent contract (which won’t be very expensive), he could very well return to the team that first drafted him. Other teams will be involved in the process as well and might end up persuading him, but his quote yesterday really opened up the possibility for his return.
Spezza is turning 36 next month and had 27 points in 76 games this past season, with 26 in 78 the previous year. He was a solid 60+ point player in Dallas in his first three seasons, but it is clear that his game has dropped off, and it looks like he is in his final stage before retirement. How many years he has left is unknown, but I think he will try to play for at least two more seasons. Is he going to be an important player on the Senators roster if he comes back? No, he will most likely be the third line centre, and I wouldn’t expect anything more than around 30 points. However, he has been a leader his entire career, and Pierre Dorion has made it clear that he would like to add a veteran free agent to this team in order to help the young players get acclimated to the NHL level.
He was making $7.5M on his previous deal, but considering his production over the past two seasons, I can’t imagine him getting any more than around $2M per season, if that. Ottawa has all the cap space in the world, so any Spezza contract is going to be inconsequential. Furthermore, if they want to re-sign Oscar Lindberg instead, he was making $1.7M this season, so it’s not as if Spezza would be more expensive than the other option. I think the term for his contract would be one or two years, as teams wouldn’t be willing to gamble on him for three seasons at his age, so the risk is very minimal.
Even if Spezza isn’t great for the Senators in his second stint with the team, I think it would be a great idea for the organization just to build some sort of good-will back with the fanbase. This would be a signing that would be loved by most fans purely for the nostalgia factor. It’s not that Spezza is going to be a great addition, it’s that Ottawa would be able to repair a relationship that was thought to be mangled, and it would be a rare instance of a former player actually wanting to come back. Fans have seen far too many great players leave the team over the past six years, and it seems as if all of them were happier after leaving. It would feel nice to know that at least one of them was willing to come back and that not every star player has a poor relationship with the organization.
Both sides need mutual interest for any deal to get done, and I still wouldn’t say Spezza is likely to sign in Ottawa, but it’s at least a possibility. It sure would be nice to have Mr. Giggles back.
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