The players won’t cast ballots, but if they did, Cory Conacher knows who would get his vote to replace Daniel Alfredsson as the Ottawa Senators’ next captain.
“I like Spezza,” Conacher says. “I think he could wear the C this year.”
Sens coach Paul MacLean along with his assistants and GM Bryan Murray have spoken with a number of players and have met internally to discuss who will be chosen from the Senators’ leadership group as the club’s first new captain in 13 years. As of Friday morning, however, there was no decision.
“It’s a big honour and something I’d love to have,” Spezza said earlier this week of possibly inheriting the C.
In addition to Spezza and defenceman Chris Phillips, associate captains under Alfie, Marc Methot, Chris Neil and even 23-year-old Erik Karlsson could earn consideration for the post.
“I don’t know who will be picked, but any one of those guys is a leader in the room,” Conacher says.
It’s a luxury that the decision in Ottawa is so difficult because of the plethora of strong candidates.
“We have a lot of confidence in the leadership group we have left and that one of them — and it’s not going to be one guy step up — but one of them is going to represent as Daniel did with the captaincy,” MacLean said before camp opened. “But leadership isn’t a one-person thing or a three-person thing — it’s an everybody thing. With me, it’s everybody. That’s still going to be the expectation — that everybody is expected to come to the rink every day and provide leadership.”
The thing with Spezza, Conacher points out, is that the leadership extends long after the Zamboni has cleaned up their pesky mess.
The 23-year-old sophomore, remember, didn’t join the Senators until the final third of the season – in a deadline deal that sent backup goaltender Ben Bishop to the Tampa Bay Lightning. At the time rookie Conacher joined the club, Spezza wasn’t even suiting up for the club; the star was recovering from back surgery.
“When I got to Ottawa, he was injured at the time, but he still took time to talk to me and help me with my game. He advised me on little things I need to do both on and off the ice, and that helps, especially for a young guy like me. He’s definitely got that leadership in him,” Conacher explains.
Spezza continued to reach out to Conacher, seven years his junior, in the offseason.
“He’s invited me to his house. He lives in Mississauga, (Ont.). I went to his house to pick up a jersey he donated to a charity event I did this summer,” Conacher goes on.
The small centre says Spezza’s leadership style is similar to both that of Alfredsson and Vincent Lecavalier, his captain in Tampa. Imagine that: you’ve played just 47 NHL games, yet you’ve had the opportunity to soak in the quiet lessons imparted by two of the game’s most respected veterans.
“They’re not the most vocal guys in the room, but they always say the right things and do the right things. Both guys are on the ice after practice. Alfie’s one of the last ones off the ice. They lead mostly by example. It was nice to have two captains like that because I like to lead by example as well,” Conacher says. “It was easy for me to get into the game and into practices. They pointed me in the right direction.”
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