Xspyrit
DJ Dorion
Valid point with Kelly. I'm just not sure Spezza is the right guy for that. I just don't know where I'd play him. Sure we could be a slow PP specialist, but we already have one of those, and he's sitting in the press box most nights. I just don't see what he brings to the table on the ice that Bobby Ryan can't.
I always hard a hard time following this board logic. Ryan and Spezza have basically declined at the same time 2-3 years ago however Ryan has almost doubled up his offensive production (~0.54 PPG vs ~0.34 PPG). They are both under average skaters at this point and seem to lack intensity compared to the Beaudins of this world because they're tall, slow and not as dynamic as when they were in their prime. They are both skilled finesse players and with hockey becoming faster and faster, that type of player has less time and space on the ice to express themselves. Even with high skill, you need to be fast, dynamic and strong in today's NHL. Basically, the average NHL hockey player has to be more and more complete nowadays
That type of player is not what Ottawa is looking for at the moment, they have that "blue collar" mentality where the Sabourins and Beaudins of this world would play over the Spezzas and Ryans. That's cute and everything but skill is also very important lol.
Not sure how many Ottawa forwards will be able to maintain a PPG over 0.54 this year... lol we'll see
And it's crazy how little respect many hockey fans have for hockey players that worked their ass off (yes, even Bobby Ryan!) to be good enough to have a long and successful career in the NHL. Of course they end up declining because aging is natural and injuries just accelerate the process. But not expecting much anymore, this is the internet and the average emotional intelligence and empathy about anything that is opinionated is pretty low.
Trading Ryan for Spezza would be great because of the salary difference, it would put a lot of money in Melnyk's pocket but it also wouldn't happen because Toronto don't have the cap space for that. If Ryan is traded, it would be for another veteran with a significant cap hit for the next 2 years (but could be less salary like Eriksson which is what the Sens are truly seeking!)
Another point is how much they lack foresight in Ottawa. You have Ryan signed at 7.25 for the next 2 seasons and his salary owed is 15 M$. You'd think that they would put him in a position to succeed to be able to trade him for somebody less expensive (perfect example Loui Eriksson). Instead he plays 10-12 mins a game with Tyler Ennis and Chris Tierney lol. If the Canucks can't have the proof that he could produce more than Eriksson and be more useful, then why would they make that swap? Money is important for them too.
And there is no point in "WINNING" this year *. They won't make the playoffs, not even close. Hard work is cool but without a 1st line and another top pairing D-man, at some point there's nothing you can do. They really should be asset and MONEY oriented (what forced us into a rebuild in the first place) and Ryan now has been scapegoated and DJ was able to kill all the relative value that Bobby rebuilt since the 2017 playoffs. Truly brilliant I tell you!
* The team doesn't have any proven 1st liner at the moment after trading Duchene, Stone, Hoffman, Zibanejad. Tkachuk, Brown and Batherson have a chance but they won't ever be superstars. The context forces them to TANK this season and draft a high end forward prospect, or if not, they could forced to wait a few years to get him another way and screw up this whole rebuild as the result.
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