The Ottawa Sun reported Wednesday night that as many as five teams are interested in trading for Spezza. According to The Sun, those five teams are St. Louis, Anaheim, Phoenix, Nashville and Florida. The Senators reportedly discussed their plan of action Wednesday.
Spezza requested a trade earlier this month, a development eventually confirmed by Senators general manager Bryan Murray. However, trading Spezza isn’t necessarily easy. He reportedly has a no-trade list that includes more than 10 teams.
The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch also reported Thursday that there are rumblings the Dallas Stars have some interest in Spezza, too.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SunGarrioch/status/482191436864307200 align=’center’]
Spezza, 31, is a highly talented offensive force when he’s healthy and going well. He scored 23 goals and had 43 assists last season, and the four-time All-Star has scored 30 goals four times in his career. Spezza has one more season left on his current contract with a salary-cap hit of $7 million.
Trade talks certainly could intensify this weekend. The NHL draft begins Friday, and with every team in Philadelphia for the weekend, it stands to reason that discussions will heat up.