Spezza extended 4 years

[Jasmine]

Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza signed a four-year contract extension Friday that will keep him with the team through the 2018-19 season. Financial terms were not released but TSN reported the contract has an average annual value of $7.5 million.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7403 ... l:topheads

[Victor]

Re: Spezza extended 4 years

overpaid

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: Spezza extended 4 years

Yep, glad that wasn't us forking out $7.5M

[Alfie11]

Re: Spezza extended 4 years

Lots of money for Spezza, we'll see how he does in Dallas.

My concern with Spezza is his defensive play and health issues. He should be good for 70-75 points per season if healthy, but he seems to rarely put out a full season. The question is, especially at centre with the defensive issues, are the pros outweighing the cons enough to justify $7.5M cap hit? I'm not sure, it's a big contract.

[Victor]

Re: Spezza extended 4 years

He's also 31, his best years may well be behind him. Not everyone is Jagr or plays for Detroit.

[Alfie11]

Re: Spezza extended 4 years

I dunno, I could see Spezza producing until his later 30s. Although he'll go into corners, he's not a very physically-involved player. That should help with some wear-and-tear. And he's never been known as a fast skater...he's big and takes long strides, though. He can see the ice so well in the offensive zone.

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: Spezza extended 4 years

I always worry about people who have had back injuries like Spezza. That will catch up with you in a real hurry. Alfie played at about 60% capacity into his 40s but I feel he's the exception rather than the rule.

[Alfie11]

Re: Spezza extended 4 years

Yeah, you could worry about Spezza's back in three years from now. But you could also worry about his back now. It's not likely he'll stay healthy now or in the future, but when he's healthy he should be good offensively.