Legend has it that the Guess Who auditioned every male singer in Winnipeg after Chad Allan left the band. Allan can be heard on the legendary (because the recording sound is so bad it is good) "Shakin' All Over" a massive international hit that made the band famous (along with their television show).
But Winnipeg in the 1960's wasn't exactly New York, and the story goes that Randy Bachman and the other members of the group had just about given up. Every Tom, Dick and Harry had auditioned for the lead singer gig and none of them were good enough for an established band like the Guess Who.
In walks Hairy, otherwise known as Burton Cummings. No matter what you think about their music, Cummings could flat out sing as a young man. The Guess Who also had enormous songwriting talent in the group (These Eyes, American Woman, No Time, Undun, New Mother Nature, Sour Suite, Laughing, Share the Land, Hand Me Down World, Orly, Running Back to Saskatoon, Rain Dance) and rank among this nation's best musical exports these many years later.
--
I think the Edmonton Oilers need to choose their lead singer wisely. Rumors of a Jason Spezza trade have been around for awhile and have appeared again this week, but it is important to remember the average age of the cluster (extremely young) and when the window of opportunity will open for this group.
Sam Gagner is 20 and has three NHL seasons experience. He is not Joe Sakic, but he has talent and can play the game. Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin will be an Oiler this summer, that's not a bad name to tag as the franchise.
The Oilers have been porridge for so long most of us can't remember the glory days. The Boys on the Bus began 30 years ago with Stan Weir, 99, Messier and so much youthful enthusiasm they captured the imagination of the nation.
The template is in those pages. Does Steve Tambellini own a copy?
My take on this: trading for Jason Spezza would be like asking James Taylor to be your rock band's new lead singer. Talented, but not necessarily the kind of guy you want to replace Bon Scott, right?
ReplyDelete----------
Tangentially related: the best name for a hockey pool team I ever saw was Kathleen Turner Overdrive.
Oh, and Tambellini does in fact have a copy of TGoOL, but apparently he's been trying to trade it to a guy in Ottawa for a photocopy of Dryden's The Game and the last four chapters of Frank Orr's Puck Is A Four Letter Word.
ReplyDeleteWe're doomed if Tambellini trades for Spezza. It'll really prove that this mgmt team isn't patient enough to build a winner.
ReplyDeleteWe're doomed if Tambellini trades for Spezza. It'll really prove that this mgmt team isn't patient enough to build a winner.
ReplyDeleteUnless this is a way to move Souray and nothing of great importance is included.
I would do Horcoff + Gagner + Nashville's 2nd for Spezza.
ReplyDeleteWe need to find a way to get out from Horcoffins contract.
Sure, but we'd still have 3 years of Spezza at 7M a year after Souray's done. We'd be carrying his fat contract & will really hurt us when MPS, Hall/Seguin, Eberle are up for renewal in 3 years.
ReplyDeleteBesides, Ottawa wouldn't take just Souray back, would they?
No to Spezza.
ReplyDeleteWe don't need injury prone, heartless players.
spezza doesn't fix anything.
ReplyDeleteBut in true form if we are following the 'Chicago' model, then we need a bunch of poor contracts that handicap post the point where draftees start panning out. Then we'll be in cap hell just as the team obtains the shine of dynasty like skill.
chartleys
if the Oilers can use a Spezza trade to move Souray and/or Horcoff's contract, then i think it is worth it.
ReplyDeleteHorcoff and Souray are under heavy, long term contracts. so is Spezza, but Spezza is much younger and fits into a rebuild much better than either of those players.
we can also move Cogliano to Ottawa, where i think he'd flourish. unfortunately with all the prospects coming in, i don't think hell get the top 6 ice time he'll need to develop. He'd get that in Ottawa, especially if they traded Spezza.
players i wouldn't mind seeing moved in a Spezza trade are Horcoff, Souray, Cogliano, Brule, Pouliot.
if a trade can't be made with those players, then no, Spezza isn't worth it.
if Katz needs to do something like take Cheechoo's salary back and bury him in the minors [which i'm not sure is feasible], then that's obviously fine too.
If the deal was Horcoff + Cogs + Brule for Spezza - I would consider it - but why would OTT?
ReplyDeleteBeside - Horcoff is perfectly suited to shelter our young guys for another 3 years and then provide great 3rd line suport for a deep playoff run in the final year of his contract.
If we draft Seguin we have no issues at center into the foreseeable future.
Asiaoil - exactly.
ReplyDeleteNo to Spezza. The face of the franchise will be guys like Hall/Seguin, MPS, Eberle, Gagner, etc.
ReplyDeleteLet them find their identity before you go supplementing it with vets.
"If the deal was Horcoff + Cogs + Brule for Spezza - I would consider it - but why would OTT?"
ReplyDeletethey probably wouldn't, but it isn't crazy.
Spezza is a personality problem and wants out.
Horcoff is a tough minutes centre who doesn't suck and has a lower cap hit [albiet still a tough one]. Cogs has potentially a lot of upside, but isn't ever going to get the chance to realize it on the Oilers. Brule is similar but less so.
OTT lowers its cap hit, gets a player with excellent potential in Cogliano and won't suddenly start bleeding defensively, because Horcoff should be able to handle the toughs.
Mostly, they get out from under some serious cap problems. They get the opportunity to re-sign Anton Volchenkov and/or Matt Cullen. or replace them.
it is difficult to think of the move as a salary dump when they're getting a contract like Horcoff's coming back, but that's what it would be.
Edmonton has cap problems too, but they're of an entirely different sort because there's no one on the team they are desperate to re-sign. we can buy out moreau, nilsson, POS .. or just wait for their contracts to expire. there's ~6 million in cap space right there. in that context, taking on Spezza's salary to fill a positional void isn't so bad, especially considering his age.
I like Horcoff alot but the only way this deal works is if he is going back the other way.
ReplyDeleteBack injuries are scary things. Then again, Horcoff is damaged goods at this point as well.
ReplyDeletePlus I don't want to deal with the Senators as I still blame Murray for that Heatley debacle being what it was.
ReplyDeletethe reality is that there are almost no teams in the Spezza sweepstakes. The big budget teams all have franchise centers.
ReplyDelete1/3 of the league is in financial trouble and would want no part of Spezza.
It might be like the Heatley turtle derby where there is only 1 or 2 teams that would even consider a deal unless they are sending absolute garbage ( ie - Redden) back.
If Spezza has quietly demanded a trade, A Horcoff + Cogs for Spezza and Cheechoo might be the best offer Ott gets.
I think something that's being lost sight of in this conversation is that this is not the Heatley situation over again. Spezza basically said he wouldn't be heartbroken if he was traded but isn't demanding to be moved and Murray said he will explore the the possibility of moving him and might do it if the right offer comes along....so the idea that Murray will give up a player like Spezza for our one of shi**y contracts + Cogliano is riduculous.
ReplyDeleteA team (hopefully not the Oilers, although I do like Spezza) is either going to knock Murray's
socks off or Spezza will be at Sens camp in September...and I'm betting on the latter.
I would do Horcoff + Gagner + Nashville's 2nd for Spezza.
ReplyDeleteWe need to find a way to get out from Horcoffins contract.
Glad that you're not GM then - doing Horcoff for Spezza might be justifiable, but in no universe does giving up Horcoff and Gagner (or Gagner period, in almost any scenario) make sense.
I don't want any part of Spezza, but if they do decide to pursue it, the highest offer I make is Souray plus one or two other assets (not including Gagner), and I don't come anywhere near what they offered for Heatley.
Tambellini's best to stay away from this altogether. Wrong player, wrong time.
The Matheson article demonstrates that the Edmonton midia is as screwed up as Kevin Lowe has been.
ReplyDeleteAnd much of the blogosphere remains a sucker for whales also. Just mention Malkin or Spezza, and the whale-hunting addicts are at it again.
I just hope that Lowe and Tambellini mean what they have said, that the 30th place finish, has shocked them out of the delusional whale hunting ways.
Draft well, rebuild the farm system, develop your own core, and sign affordable no-name free agents to fill the gaps.
And much of the blogosphere remains a sucker for whales also. Just mention Malkin or Spezza, and the whale-hunting addicts are at it again.
ReplyDeleteIf they can't get much for Souray and somehow they can get Spezza for Souray, Cogs, and some other 'throw in' I think its an ok deal.
If something better is available for Souray then don't do it.
Its fine to be critical of the suggestion, but keep in mind, we need to dump a fairly 'well used' whale and that might be difficult without taking someone who is overpaid back in the deal.
Saying Horcoff is better than Spezza, now that's being totally realistic.
ReplyDeleteI mean cmon, fucking wake up we're not in 2006 anymore.
Horcoff was the worst a hockey player can be last year he did nothing that even ressembled ''Handling the toughs''
He bleeded like hell with -30 and 30 points
Spezza had TOUGHER competition and had +0 and 57 PTS in 60 games.
Spezza had TOUGHER competition in each of the last three years than Horcoff did, and still finished with +12 while Horcoff got -21.
They're just not in the same realm.
Spezza>Horcoff
ReplyDeleteSpezza had TOUGHER competition and had +0 and 57 PTS in 60 games.
Spezza had TOUGHER competition in each of the last three years than Horcoff did, and still finished with +12 while Horcoff got -21.
How do you know he had tougher competition?
Bookie: Desjardins' Qual Comp.
ReplyDeleteSeems like someone missed that whole conversation on QualComp not being comparable, in absolute terms, across teams.
ReplyDeleteHorcoff consistently ranked in the top forwards in QualComp, Spezza doesn't. Spezza never saw a ZoneStart like Horcoff did. Spezza never played with JFJ. I'm not going to argue that Horcoff is better, but I'm damn sure not going to pretend that Spezza played tougher minutes.
Just for reference, player's rank on their team among forwards with 40+ GP and 10 ESTOI.
ReplyDeleteHorcoff:
2007 - 11th
2008 - 2nd
2009 - 1st
Spezza:
2007 - 8th
2008 - 7th
2009 - 3rd
Fun to note that PPG Horcoff (that for some reason Kevin Lowe decided to reward) was sheltered like never before (although I really think there's a timing effect that due to injury and the team falling off a cliff, a bit, shotswise.)
Again, I'm not saying Horcoff is better than Spezza, but Horcoff definitely plays the tougher minutes and never had a season with the kind of money on his wings that Spezza did.
Quain: Oh lordy, well Peter Regin, super upgrade.
ReplyDeleteHorcoff was 3rd behind Stoll and Reason iner 07-08. That's not what i called ''Consistently''
Spezza: 2nd (By 0,01), 2nd and 1st on his team at center for Qual Comp
Horcoff: 3rd, 1st and 1st.
What a flabergasting difference.
Quain: Tell me Horcoff gets 90 points with Heatley and Alfredsson, i'm sorry but you'l be a liar.
ReplyDeleteYou caught me FPB, I'm arguing that Horcoff is a scoring center on level with Spezza. I wish I had included notes in my posts to dissuade you from thinking that.
ReplyDeleteGod, what a prick I am.
everything quain said.
ReplyDeletecan't just look at QualComp in isolation.
Horcoff had some absolute garbage linemates last year.
obviously Horcoff isn't nearly as good as Spezza, but he's cheaper, competitive, wouldn't leave a hole at centre and would give OTT the freedom to sign some UFAs. freedom they absolutely do not have right now.
it is a bad trade for OTT, but when you're up against the cap like they are, sometimes you're forced into bad situations. like no cap space + player who got unfairly booed and wants out of the market.
probably doesn't happen but i don't think it is that far fetched considering the return they got for Heatley.
If Horcoff is healthy this team can't afford to trade him; if he's hurt no one will touch him. One of the ways EDM gets to the lottery again next season is if Horcoff really is damaged goods.
ReplyDeleteIf he's healthy, this team doesn't get close to the lottery. This isn't a 30th place team when healthy.
And, going by per center ranks doesn't work, unless you really think the Oilers ran six lines in 2009 (they had 6 Centers after all!)
ReplyDeleteIf you want to go by line rankings, Spezza played third line comp in 2007/2008 and first in 2009. Horcoff played fourth line comp in 2007 (!) and first in 2008/2009. Zone Start tells a pretty fun story too as Horcoff had the 4th/1st/2nd toughest starts going 2007-2009, Spezza ranked 7th/7th/7th.
My argument is that Horcoff played tougher minutes than Spezza, not that he's going to score more or he gets more powerplay points. I don't see how you can really refute that.
I go from Horcoff not being a first line center debate, three years ago and getting hammered for it, to Horcoff is an important, underappreciated piece of this hockey team, and getting bashed for it. It's just very odd how the pendulum swings for Horcoff.
ReplyDeleteIts either you'll take a bullet for Horcoff, or you'll be lining up at city hall for the public flogging of Shawn Horcoff with very little in between. The answer does lie somewhere in the middle.
FPB - if you want an audience for your ridiculousness, why don't you head on over to the romper room?
ReplyDeleteWhen the grown-ups want to hear from you, we'll give you a call on the Cookie Monster phone, so hang close by in case we call. Otherwise, STFU.
The only way a general manager with any sort of brain takes on Spezza is if the Senators take back O'Sullivan and Souray.
He's a one-dimensional player, playing with great wingers and he'd be buried on a team like Edmonton, where western conference teams get to match him hard.
For the people here calling Horcoff's contract a problem, at least he can outscore the toughs (With a healthy arm and without J.F. Jacquesanchor on his wing) and kill penalties and win faceoffs.
If Tambellini is in charge, and Lowe has no power to man the harpoon boats, this isn't going to happen. Why trade legit assets like Penner and Smid for Spezza when you can just draft Spezza by taking Seguin?
If you're going to start selling off current assets for no reason, and believe me, Spezza is no reason, then offer the same package to Florida for Weiss, get a better player and save $4 million.
There are 16 other centers in the eastern conference I'd rather have than Spezza and his $7 million boat anchor contract.
Horcoff for Spezza makes no sense. Bring in Spezza(Souray deal) to play with Horcoff and Gagner down the middle, and we have huge playoff potential with that forward core. Trying out Hall at center could be a great option too.
ReplyDeleteThe D and G need obvious help, but will guide us into another top 10 pick. Combined with our young forward core, we're probably looking at a top 5 pick in 2011.
Draft an elite D, or a C, and watch our team grow into something playoff worthy in 2-3 seasons. Pick up some solid veterans with added salary in the next 2 seasons, replacing guys like Moreau/Strudwick/Nilsson, and O'Sullivan, if he doesn't bounce back.
You can bet that Katz will catch the whale in the end. Chances are it'll be the last piece to a young offensively potent team.
"If Horcoff is healthy this team can't afford to trade him"
ReplyDeletei dunno about that.
i think if he's healthy you trade him for value.
not because he' bad or because the team couldn't use him, but because he just doesn't fit the rebuild.
Now I'm not saying trading for Spezza is a good idea. However, if you can do it for Souray, Cogliano and prospects... suddenly our line-up at forward is pretty ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteC: Spezza, Gagner, Horcoff
LW: Penner, Hall, MPS
RW: Hemsky, Eberle, Brule
Well fill that out however you want with the other pieces and the combinations. It's a lot of fire power.
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteThree players in your dream-land lineup can play NHL minutes. The team would get destroyed.
I would do Horcoff + Gagner + Nashville's 2nd for Spezza.
Wow, LT, I didn't realize that such luminaries as Darryl Sutter commented here.
Darryl,
What are your thoughts on the Ian White contract negotiations?
If the Oilers management really was smart and committed to a proper re-build this Spezza thing will go nowhere.
ReplyDeleteTambellini will lose any remaining credibility by doing exactly what he said he was not going to a couple of months ago.
That said, what does it say about who is really pulling the strings if the Oilers foolishly try to short-circuit a proper re-build by trading for Spezza? Lowe is still in control? Tambellini is still a puppet? Katz is no better than Daniel Snyder.
This would be the bigger story if in fact this trade happens. And these clowns would be in Mike Milbury territory too.
It seems that a lot of people are of the belief that when a rebuilding team wins, ALL of their players are aged 22-25. You do need some older players that know how to play to win. If one of our older players is Spezza, then so be it. Assuming he could be had without surrendering players that can potentially play a bigger role in winning.
ReplyDeleteFor those opposed to Spezza, can you explain to me how a 31 year old Spezza would not be an upgrade on our top-two lines over Horcoff? I mean, four years is a reasonable time-frame for this to turn around, given the number of players in the pipe-line.
The one thing they can't afford to do, though, is give away depth on the blue-line. They can send away some of their forwards, maybe even a second rounder (strictly because they have an excess of them), but they can't deal Smid; they already have too few blue-liners as is.
Lowetide said: This isn't a 30th place team when healthy.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Nor are we are contender with Spezza and minus Penner/Smid.
As you said, there is a nice, very young cluster brewing, but it is not big enough and contains no D-men. If we're giving up solid assets like Penner, Smid, or Horcoff, let's get something to add to our little group of talent. Our cluster was only 8-10 years old (Timbits) when Spezza was breaking into the NHL touted as the second coming of 88.
" If the Oilers management really was smart and committed to a proper re-build this Spezza thing will go nowhere."
ReplyDeleteWhat in the blue hell does this even mean and why do we care?
Get a team together that can win. It doesn't matter how.
Paper Designer - The reason you don't make the deal is because in a cap world, financial flexability is everything.
ReplyDeleteThe Oilers are working themselves out of cap purgatory, but obviously need to be focused on 2 years from now when they will have to make long term decisions on Hemsky and Penner who stand to be UFA's and 3 years from now when most likely Eberle, MPS and Hall / Seguin will be up for contract #2. A deal to aquire Spezza may help the Oilers win a couple games in the next 2 years, but it will likely hamper our ability to maintain the core of the team for the long term which is the whole point of the rebuild.
Horcoff, like many other players, is a good player who gets unfair criticism based on his contract. No, he isn't a $5.5M player, but he's a very good player at $3.5M, despite the poor season he had. The problem is that Edmonton has too many poor value contracts like that one right now, between Horcoff, Souray, Khabibulin, O'Sullivan, etc. The good news is that we have no desire to spend to the cap, and by the time that we do, all but Horcoff are guaranteed to be gone. The only salary we need to clear comes from the Souray, Moreau, Nilsson, O'Sullivan group. (And Khabibulin if there were any chance of that happening). We'll shed all but Khabibulin in the next 8 months, and then there'll be no cap issue whatsoever, barring a string of foolish spending.
ReplyDeleteIf they're selling Spezza at a big discount, sure, lets take him. If they aren't (and I doubt that they are) then lets not. Simple as that. Our shopping list includes a true tough minutes centre for the 3rd line, a solid 2nd pairing d-man, and another defenceman. If we can add a 2nd/3rd line winger with size, lets take that too, but I don't wanna overpay for Colby Armstrong.
Coach I said that was a lot of fire power I didn't say it was a Stanley Cup Contender.
ReplyDeleteBut it'd be interesting to watch that skill develop around one another. You'd obviously need to compliment it with other types of players and see how those guys evolve.
I'm just saying it would be an exciting line-up. Not that it would necessarily be the best use of cap space.
I'd rather have Manny Malholtra (UFA 1 million?) than Spezza for next year's edition of the Oilers. Unless of course we want to be 30th again and lose all our defensive zone faceoffs like we did this year.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand losing though. Last year's team without all the injuries (especially Khabby....I know we love to hate him, but he is a solid NHL goalie when he is healthy and can carry a team) doesn't come close to finishing last. With some better luck, next year will be an improvement.
I'm willing to be a little patient, but the thought of watching this team flounder for half a decade like CHI did makes me want to vomit. There has to be a better way of building a team and staying competitive, and maybe it starts with guys like Manny and Horcoff rather than Spezza.
Detroit seems to have a good recipe for success year after year. Is there anyone in the Red Wings organization we could poach?
Then again, maybe we use a 2-4 mil/yr center, likely O'Sullivan/Hall, and go about catching us another top notch defenseman through draft or trade in the next year. Lowe can maybe still be useful on his way out ;)
ReplyDeleteI'll take 30 min/game from aPronger-lite like defenseman over almost any Center out there. But what do I know, I thought getting Vishnovsky and Pitkanen in the end was the greatest thing ever...
Who knows what kind of defense this teams going to need to be successful going forward. I think puck movement and skating ability will be far more valuable than anything a rugged defenseman with little mobility could provide. Gilbert/Smid/Whitney is a nice start but a few big tough veteran defenseman who can make a pass would be ideal I think.
I often wish this was a music blog. It would be so good. Oh the potential fights that could be had over the merits of SNFU's third bass player vs. the second...
ReplyDeleteBack on topic: Spezza, blah blah, whale hunting, blah blah, Horcoff isn't a first line center, blah blah, trade down, blah blah, Hall/Seguin, blah blah. Waiting desperately and twitchingly for the draft and bickering, blah blah.
Got the iTunes merrily shuffling: Cocksparrer, Nine Pound Hammer, Paul Westerberg, Jay Reatard, Urge Overkill, Jackson 5, The Cars, Fishbone, Huun-Huur-Tu.
It will be hilarious if Flyers win this thing and Pronger gets the Conn Smyth.
ReplyDeleteI can't hate Pronger anymore, he just didn't want to work around Lowe/MacTavish, and his wife, haha.
Hawks choking this away would be classic.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRider Guy wrote:
ReplyDeletePaper Designer - The reason you don't make the deal is because in a cap world, financial flexability is everything.
The Oilers are working themselves out of cap purgatory, but obviously need to be focused on 2 years from now when they will have to make long term decisions on Hemsky and Penner who stand to be UFA's and 3 years from now when most likely Eberle, MPS and Hall / Seguin will be up for contract #2. A deal to aquire Spezza may help the Oilers win a couple games in the next 2 years, but it will likely hamper our ability to maintain the core of the team for the long term which is the whole point of the rebuild.
If the Oilers did trade for Spezza, and were in a situation where they need cap room after the 2012-13 season, why isn't Spezza a tradeable player with 2 years left on his deal, due to make 5 mil and 4 mil with a 7 mil cap hit each season?
why the roar to get spezza as nathan horton sits in florida and wants out... he is a gem waiting to be snatched outta there..
ReplyDeleteRider, I agree that he's a steep investment, but he's probably a more movable commodity if he comes here and puts up ninety points than Horcoff if he rebounds and puts up sixty.
ReplyDeleteIf you're trading for Spezza, you're giving up a big contract in return; one of Horcoff or Souray would be going the other way. Spezza may be a bigger ticket, but he's also a better talent. He's a proven first line center, and there are teams that can lack that. I can't see why we wouldn't be able to deal him down the road if, say, Gagner ends up developing into a legitimate first line center, and we could use a strong blue-liner on a big ticket from a team that lacks a true number one centerman.
The more I think about it, the more I think the deal that makes most sense for the Senators, though, would be Spezza for Colombus' 4th overall pick.
Tangentially related: the best name for a hockey pool team I ever saw was Kathleen Turner Overdrive.
ReplyDeleteI've seen that as a band name in Rock Band when playing online. It was pretty rad.
Now, why is everyone willing to give up the farm for Spezza? If he doesn't outscore tough minutes, doesn't that make him an older version of what we've already got too much of? And what on Earth makes people think they'd take Horcoff? Unless they take him straight up, the cap gain is going to be minimal to zero.
Spezza: $7M
Horcoff: $5.5M
Toss in Cogliano and Brule, and Ottawa actually takes on cap hit, regardless of what Brule gets as an RFA. Insanity. "Throw in" Gagner instead? Turn over the keys to the franchise and take a one-way trip to the High Level Bridge. Seriously.
If it's not Souray and parts, I'm not interested, and even at that, Spezza's awfully expensive for what he'll be. I'm not convinced we can't do better by trading Souray for a decent young D plus magic beans and letting the forwards develop for another year or two.
All that being said...
When the grown-ups want to hear from you, we'll give you a call on the Cookie Monster phone, so hang close by in case we call. Otherwise, STFU.
See, it's confrontational, condescending shit like this that keeps people from opening their minds to other possibilities, and which causes me to kind of hate posting in this neck of the woods sometimes. Treat people like they're stupid and they'll never listen to you.
//Get a team together that can win. It doesn't matter how.//
ReplyDeleteWinning is a process, not an end. "How" is what matters. Losers think winning is an end.
Adhoc-ery means whether one wins or loses is a crapshoot. Whale-hunting is adhoc-ery. Whale-hunting is for losers.
//If the Oilers did trade for Spezza, and were in a situation where they need cap room after the 2012-13 season, why isn't Spezza a tradeable player with 2 years left on his deal, due to make 5 mil and 4 mil with a 7 mil cap hit each season//
ReplyDeleteBecause Spezza has a no-trade-clause in his contract.
And in another two years, it will be obvious to even the blind men currently promoting Spezza, that he is a horrible hockey player, which is why the Senators want to dump him.
If Spezza can't handle the mild criticism from the fans in Ottawa, how is going to handle the abuse (or Horcoffian or Potian proportions) in Edmonton when the fans turn on him, and they will, because Spezza is as soft-as-butter backpassing turnover machine.
Well hold the phone here. I don't want Spezza to be an Oiler because (as with Heatley) it will involve young players going the other way.
ReplyDeleteBut he's a fine NHL player and impacts the toughest thing to do in the game: score goals.
CoachPB: If only you'd make a an arguement instead of random insults.
ReplyDeleteIf we want to hear from an old douche who yells kids to get out of his lawn, we'll throw peppermitns your way, otherwise STFU. (See what i did there)
Quain: You missed the god damn point, you said Horcoff had shit teamates, but even if he had Spezza's teamates he wouldn't perform at his level.
godot10:
ReplyDeleteIf Spezza is traded before July 1st, the NTC does not bind the acquiring team.
Cummings was a huge Orr fan who used to perform in a B's jersey, right?
ReplyDeleteI thought he became a parody of himself later on -- I blame it on the stache -- but that fucker could wail and really hold a note.
Well, I know on the Greatest Hits album cover there were a couple of guys in Habs jerseys, including one a Dryden sweater.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's why the band broke up...