Vegas Golden Knights: Making a case for Jason Spezza

DALLAS, TX - MAY 1: Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars skates against the St. Louis Blues in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 1, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MAY 1: Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars skates against the St. Louis Blues in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 1, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
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CHICAGO, IL – FEBRUARY 24: Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars reacts after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period at the United Center on February 24, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – FEBRUARY 24: Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars reacts after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period at the United Center on February 24, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Jason Spezza has announced his intention to play at least one more year in the NHL – could he be a suitable fit for the Vegas Golden Knights?

Spezza has put off any retirement plans for now but will hit unrestricted free agency on July, 1 for the very first time in his career after agreeing to part ways with the Dallas Stars. The veteran center still has plenty to offer and he could be an intriguing option for the Vegas Golden Knights.

As we’ve discussed in great detail already, the Golden Knights aren’t in the market for a huge star in free agency this offseason, so rule out any potential moves for blockbuster names in the ilk of Artemi Panarin or Erik Karlsson.

No, the Knights have already gone down that road with the signings of Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone and, with not a lot of wriggle room left when it comes to the salary cap, any additions the franchise do make this summer will be of the more modest variety.

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But that is fine and dandy because every Stanley Cup contender needs a glut of role players and Vegas already has their array of stars in place. Any tinkering to the roster now will be just small subtle changes in order to help push this team over the finishing line in the postseason.

It is crucial for any franchise in the NHL with aspirations of winning a championship to be able to boast secondary scoring and there are a number of players available in free agency this summer that would act as smart and cheap pickups for the Golden Knights.

You only have to look at the Boston Bruins to know how effective and even season-altering bolstering the bottom of your lineup can be. They added Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle at the trade deadline and both players have played big roles in helping the franchise to their third Stanley Cup Finals in just nine years.

This is where Jason Spezza comes in.

The NHL veteran will hit the open market this summer and could represent a great option for a contender needing a dash of grit and a dollop of experience, among other things. We’ve thrashed out the pros and cons when it comes to the Vegas Golden Knights signing the second overall pick in the 2001 NHL Draft.

DALLAS, TX – MAY 1: Jason Spezza #90 and the Dallas Stars celebrate a goal against the St. Louis Blues in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 1, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – MAY 1: Jason Spezza #90 and the Dallas Stars celebrate a goal against the St. Louis Blues in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 1, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Pros to signing Jason Spezza

At 35-years of age Spezza is in the twilight of his career but he still has much to offer and would bring a wealth of experience to the Golden Knights locker room, which cannot be understated when you consider that Cody Eakin, Deryk Engelland and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare could all be heading for pastures new this offseason.

Eakin and Bellemare currently occupy the third and fourth-line center spots for the franchise but if both players leave via trade and unrestricted free agency respectively, then you would have two big holes to fill.

Erik Haula, who is currently working his way back from a season-ending lower-body injury, would make perfect sense to plug the gap as the team’s third-line center, paving the way for Spezza to come in and operate as the fourth-line pivot between William Carrier and Ryan Reaves.

Talk about a shutdown line that would boast an abundance of power, grit, tenacity and snarl with Spezza also able to bring a lot more to the table rather than just his hulking 6’3″, 215 lb frame.

Firstly, the right-shot boasts exceptional skills in the faceoff circle with a career win percentage of 53.1, while he won a hugely impressive 58.24 of his draws in 2018-19. That resume would make Spezza a perfect candidate to have roles on both the power play and penalty kill, and you’d also have no qualms about matching him up against other team’s top lines when it comes to his faceoff expertise.

His 30 blocked shots, 16 hits and 26 takeaways this year underlines the solid job that Spezza can carry out in the defensive zone, although his 53 giveaways in 2018-19 would give any potential suitors cause for concern.

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Shifting the focus on to Spezza’s offensive play however, and the Golden Knights would be gaining a player still capable of putting up respectable numbers, particularly for someone who would probably suit a fourth-line grinder role best at this stage of his career.

Spezza put up eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points for the Stars in 18-19, including 12 points on the power play. He also contributed five points (three goals, two assists) in 11 playoff outings for Dallas.

That is the kind of secondary scoring any Stanley Cup contender would crave and you can bank on Spezza having at least one more productive season in the tank.

Consider this also; if Bellemare does indeed leave Sin City this summer as an unrestricted free agent then recruiting Spezza would not only fill that hole at fourth-line center, but he could also act as the perfect mentor for Cody Glass.

Glass, who is currently doing his thing for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL Western Conference Finals, is Vegas’ No.1 prospect on the depth start and the young stud is standing on the precipice of earning an NHL call-up.

So what better way for Glass to continue his development than by being taking under the wing of Spezza and learning from a true professional in the NHL? It would be an invaluable learning curve for the young talent and could accelerate his path towards being truly NHL ready.

It is a different sport entirely so you could say this is like comparing apples to oranges, but the core principal remains the same. Patrick Mahomes, star quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, spent a year sitting behind and learning from Alex Smith before he was given his chance to shine in the big leagues and look at how that has panned out for him. The same kind of situation could work wonders for Glass in the NHL.

GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 09: Alex Galchenyuk #17 of the Arizona Coyotes takes a faceoff against Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars at Gila River Arena on February 9, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 09: Alex Galchenyuk #17 of the Arizona Coyotes takes a faceoff against Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars at Gila River Arena on February 9, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Cons to signing Spezza

This would only be a short-term solution rather than a long-term fix given Spezza’s advancing years and that will have to be taken into consideration by the Golden Knights, who have to be especially prudent this offseason given their salary cap issues.

Speaking of which, the money aspect of any potential deal could also be a potential issue for Vegas too. Spezza’s salary cap hit in 2018-19 was $7,500,000, which is a huge amount of money for a 35-year-old who logged on average of just 13:16 minutes a night.

Vegas wouldn’t be able to afford that kind of outlay with their salary cap issues, although there are probably few teams who would be willing to pay that so Spezza could well be willing to accept a more modest payday.

When it comes to the physical aspect, the NHL is getting younger and faster by the day and players of Spezza’s ilk are becoming somewhat of an endangered species.

He won’t be able to fly up and down the ice nor will he get you 30 or 40 goals a season, although that level of production won’t be expected of him.

There could well be some wear and tear down the road also given Spezza’s age so the decision for Vegas would come down to whether or not they want to take that risk, or instead opt to fast-track Cody Glass into the lineup if Pierre-Edouard Bellemare does indeed walk as an unrestricted free agent.

DALLAS, TX – MAY 1: Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars handles the puck against the St. Louis Blues in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 1, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – MAY 1: Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars handles the puck against the St. Louis Blues in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on May 1, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Conclusion

With 915 career points in 1,065 regular season games and 69 points in 80 NHL playoff appearances, Spezza has been there, done that and got the many t-shirts in his long and distinguished career.

He’s a proven leader both on and off the ice and he’s still got that burning fire in his belly to want to come in and make a real difference to a team.

Not only would Spezza bring a wealth of experience and leadership to the table but he proved in this year’s postseason that he can still contribute on the biggest stage, which would make him a perfect pickup for a contender.

The Vegas Golden Knights are in their Stanley Cup window right now and they only need to add a couple more pieces to be able to help them cross the finish line.

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What they need at this stage is role players and Spezza would fit that bill perfectly as a bottom-six forward who can win draws, put the body on, put up 20-35 points and be a mentor for the younger players on the roster.

Spezza would have to accept a significant pay cut if he did indeed want to make Sin City his new home, but it could be a deal that works out perfectly for both parties with the Golden Knights filling out their bottom six with a character-player and Spezza getting one more crack at adding a championship to his resume.

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