After a disappointing season there has been plenty of speculation about how the Dallas Stars will go about changing their roster for next year, but one veteran name won’t be cast aside so quickly. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that though his name had been mentioned repeatedly, Jason Spezza will not be bought out by the team and instead play out the final year of his contract. The buyout window opened today, and with Spezza’s $7.5MM cap hit many had speculated about him as a possibility.
Unfortunately, Spezza wasn’t able to maintain his career production this season. Seeing his minutes slashed considerably, he recorded only eight goals and 26 points in 78 games, easily the worst full season of his career. Up until this point Spezza had been one of the most consistent offensive players in the league, registering at least 50 points in 12 straight seasons (not counting the lockout-shortened year in which he played just five games), and at least 20 goals in nine of those. Once a 90-point player in his prime with the Ottawa Senators, he was limited to fourth line duty for much of the 2017-18 campaign.
At 35 a full rebound for Spezza is unlikely. There is probably not a 50-point player still around, as he heads into the twilight of his career. That said, there is some cause for optimism. Facing weaker competition, Spezza’s possession numbers were actually a positive this season and his career-low 5.8% shooting percentage is bound to improve next year. A career 13.0% shooter, anything even approaching that would have resulted in a much better season. Though that can’t be counted on, excitement with a new coaching staff under Jim Montgomery and Todd Nelson should give Spezza every opportunity to at least be an important part of the team.
The decision to not buy out his contract makes sense, even without a bounce-back season. Though the team would experience a $5MM cap reduction this season, it would keep $2.5MM on their books for the 2019-20 season when they need every dollar they can save to re-sign Tyler Seguin. Just as John Tavares is commanding a near $100MM contract this summer, the Stars could be in a similar situation with Seguin if they can’t get a deal done with him this time around. He’s eligible for an extension as of July 1st, but using any cap space on a Spezza buyout would only weaken the Stars position.
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Nobody is happier that Hitchcock left Dallas than Jason Spezza.. Hitch’s use of Spezza was a joke… He was put in a position to fail bc he didn’t like his defense. With full health and a new system in place that plays to his strength I think he has a nice bounce back next year.
Unless they really need the $5m this offseason, it just doesn’t make much sense to buy him out for his last year.