Vegas Golden Knights: Making a case for Jason Spezza

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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) /

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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