Jason Spezza or Alexei Yashin: Who is the better Ottawa Senators centre?
Whenever someone mentions great Ottawa Senators centres, two big names immediately come to mind – Alexei Yashin and Jason Spezza. The two players are as similar as they are different, and their respective statistics prove this.
Both Yashin and Spezza have played seven years with the Senators. Spezza is still on the team, while Yashin was traded to the New York Islanders in 2001. However, their seven-year totals are eerily similar. Yashin put up 218 goals and 491 points, and Spezza has scored 171 goals and 475 points, a difference of only 16. In terms of points-per-game, Spezza holds the advantage with 1.02, while Yashin is not far behind with 0.97.
Their best single-season totals are somewhat similar as well. Spezza’s best two seasons in Ottawa were 92 points in 2007-08, and 90 in 2005-06. Yashin’s best seasons were 94 points in 1998-99, and 88 in 2000-01. Indeed, Yashin was more of a goal-scorer than Spezza was, and he has two seasons of 40 goals to show for it. However, Spezza has proven to be one of hockey’s better passers, having reached 50 assists on three occasions, and 71 in 2005-06.
Playoff performances are another area where the stats of these two talented centres clash. Spezza is even at 46 points in 46 career playoff games, while Yashin’s playoff totals are far lower. In 26 playoff games, Yashin managed only 15 points. Both players have often been criticized for their lack of production during the spring months. Like skilled magicians, they often disappeared from the score sheets.
The Senators played in the Stanley Cup final in 2007, where Spezza played the role of the Invisible Man against Anaheim. This past season, he scored seven points in six playoff games before his team was eliminated by Pittsburgh in the first round. Normally, these kinds of numbers would be very praiseworthy, but the Ottawa faithful were still unimpressed with his production.
Spezza and Yashin’s similarities extend far beyond their numbers on the score sheets. Both are 6ft 3in tall and weigh 215 pounds, play the same position, and even share a jersey number. Spezza is the current owner of No. 19, while Yashin was its previous occupant.
Their respective careers in Ottawa have taken similar paths as well. Both players were high draft picks who were slated to become franchise players for the team. Yashin’s first few years in Canada’s capital were highly productive, but his scoring tailed off after a while. He didn’t resonate well within the community either. The Russian’s credibility dropped to zero when refused to play in 1999-00 due to disagreements over his contract. He was traded to the Islanders a year later, where his totals hit all-time lows.
“(Yashin’s) credibility with the community was zero,” said Marshall Johnston, who was the Seantors’ general manager during the Yashin saga. “There wasn’t even a remote discussion of signing him to a new contract, so then it became a matter of what could we get for him.”
In return for Yashin, the Senators received the Islanders’ second-overall pick in 2001, along with defenseman Zdeno Chara and grinding forward Bill Muckalt.
Little did the Senators know that this trade would work out for them better than they had ever expected. They took Jason Spezza with the number two pick at the 2001 draft, while Chara evolved into one of the game’s best defensemen. He would later go on to win a Norris Trophy as the National Hockey League’s top defenseman in 2008-09 as a member of the Boston Bruins.
“We were very fortunate in that trade; very fortunate,” Johnston said of the blockbuster deal.
Yashin may have punched his ticket out of Ottawa with his poor attitude, but Spezza has proved that he has sticking power, despite the fact that several fans are calling for him to be traded. Spezza has a chance to be one of the game’s elite playmakers, but it all begins with him. He must show that he is capable of reaching this lofty status, while letting his play do the talking for him.
So the question remains, who really is the better Ottawa centre? At this point it’s hard to say. There is no doubt that the Spezza vs. Yashin debate will carry on for quite some time. Yashin has been out of the league for several years now, while Spezza continues to soldier on in Ottawa. One thing is certain, though – Spezza has a far better attitude towards the game than his Russian counterpart ever did. That may be a deciding factor in which player is more deserving of this title.
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