The Ottawa Senators are set to make a move
Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray said earlier in the week that he was preparing to make a move in order to spark his struggling line-up.
The Senators have meandered through the first six games of the year, going a dreadful 1-4-1, and currently sit at the bottom of the National Hockey League standings with a meagre three points. The club has not been able to spark what many thought would be
a high-powered offence and has had trouble shutting opponents down with their lacklustre defending.
Although it is still early in the year, Murray seems intent on making a drastic change to his roster. Well there are several players who are under-performing this season, such Alex Kovalev, who only has one point this season, and Nick Foligno, who also has
only accumulated one point, Jason Spezza is at the centre of all trade rumours once again.
Spezza seems to be involved in trade speculation partially because he is the Senators' greatest asset and partially because he is set to earn $7 million over the next four years.
At the moment there seems to be a great demand for the young centre, and for good reason, as the Ontario native has been a point-per-game player since joining the League in 2002-03. Spezza’s ability to contribute on the offensive end has no doubt made him
one of the elite centres in the NHL and the Senators could get a hefty return for the 27-year-old.
Ottawa’s most glaring hole this season seems to be their defence, where the club has struggled to shut down their opponent’s top line. In the off-season, the squad lost shot-blocking defenseman Anton Volchenkov to free agency and was unable to replace him.
Moreover, Filip Kuba is still out with an injury and the club is stacked with offensive defenders, who are weak in their own zone. Without any real trade bait on the blue line, Spezza may be the only player able to fetch the necessary return to drastically
transform the line-up.
It has been reported that the Senators are being pursued by the New York Rangers, who are very thin at centre and without a bona-fide first line player at the position. The Rangers have struggled to give sniper Marian Gaborik a legitimate assist-man to play
with up front and Spezza could be the answer.
The Senators have reason to listen to the Rangers as they have two solid, young, stay-at-home defenseman, who could fit nicely into the Ottawa line-up. Trading an elite centre such as Spezza would require a major return from the Rangers, and youngster Marc
Staal would likely have to be involved in the deal. The 23-year-old Staal already leads the Rangers in ice time and is as strong as they come on the back end, boasting a plus-11 on a weak Rangers side last season.
Also rumoured to be in discussions with the Senators are the Los Angeles Kings, who feel as though they have a legitimate shot at a Stanley Cup run this season, but will need a second line centre if they want to go deep in the play-offs. The club has a solid
first line, but lacks any real depth on the second scoring unit, with Jarret Stoll checking in as the number two centre. The Kings also have over five million in cap space, and with some minor adjustments, could easily handle Spezza’s contract.
The Senators would once again be searching for a solid defender in the deal and it is rumoured the club may be willing to part with youngster Jack Johnson. The emergence of Drew Doughty as one of the League’s best defenseman has lowered Johnson’s value in
the franchise. In addition, power forward Wayne Simmonds continues to be surrounded by trade speculation.
Murray has said his line-up needs a change in order to move forward in the 2010-11 campaign, and trading Spezza may be Murray’s most viable option if he hopes to save a sputtering campaign.
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