Follow Ian on Twitter @ian_mendes, Spezza at the 2001 NHL Draft after being selected at No. And are not friends. "Certainly, (talking with Clouston) behind the scenes would be a lot more effective, and trying to work through it. When he made his World Junior debut in 2000, he became the third 16-year-old in history to make the team, after Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros. WebDany age is 40 years as of in 2021 and his birthplace is Freiburg im Breisgau. Heatley finished the 200506 season with 50 goals and 103 points, fourth in the league. Dany Heatley at left wing Jason Spezza at centre They were originally known as the CASH Line, because it was an acronym for Captain Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley - and because they were money in big situations. [4], In August 2012, it was revealed that Heatley had filed an $11 million lawsuit against his longtime agent and business adviser Stacey McAlpine, McAlpine's parents Gerald and Eugenia, and several companies. WebHaving traded centres Radek Bonk and Todd White off-season, the Senators started Spezza on the first line between Dany Heatley and rookie Brandon Bochenski, who was He made his debut at the 2000 World Junior Championships, becoming just the third 16-year-old to make the team in Team Canada history, after Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros (this feat was also accomplished the same year by defenceman Jay Bouwmeester and Sidney Crosby in 2004). Captain Daniel Alfredsson quickly replaced Bochenski on the top line (Bochenski was soon thereafter traded) and the new trio become nicknamed the "CASH" line and "Pizza" line. The 36-year-old Spezza credits his close friendship for Heatley as for one of the reasons why the trio was so lethal. With NHL play set to resume in 200506, Spezza returned to Ottawa. He amassed 687 points in 686 games with Ottawa, making him the only point-per-game player who suited up in more than 500 games for the Senators franchise. [32] He recorded 17 goals and 45 assists in 82 games in his first season with the Stars, as they missed the 2015 playoffs. [2] Spezza attended St. Michael's College School. In the playoffs, Spezza saved an elite performance for a pivotal Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. It feels like that number should be 150, laughed Heatley when told about the statistic. The team started to look like a real team again. They are two of the best.". WebDany Heatleyis a German-born Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. [47] Heatley avoided having to go to trial as part of a plea deal that dropped the first-degree charge of vehicular homicide. [2] He went on to lead the Buffaloes to the bronze medal at the 1998 Air Canada Cup, where he finished as both Top Scorer and Tournament MVP. Jason Rocco Anthony Spezza (born June 13, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Spezza managed 73 points in 82 games, and while still respectable, the numbers were his lowest totals since his first full NHL season in 200304. It was less of a trade demand and more of a request, but Murray granted those wishes by sending Spezza to the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2014. Its something I took very seriously, being the captain especially on a Canadian team and somewhere I had been for a long time. As 200506 was the first year that the NHL implemented the shootout, Heatley became the second player to score in an NHL shootout, scoring against Leafs goalie Ed Belfour, after Alfredsson. One of my favourite goals, which nobody else will remember, was there was a shot from the point that went up high in the air. Two time Stanley Cup His first, in 2000, ended with a bronze medal win against the US in a shootout; Heatley scored a goal in the 43 victory. While other high draft picks like Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash were afforded the ability to make youthful mistakes with bottom-dwelling franchises, Spezza was expected to have a refined and polished 200-foot game to help a championship-calibre Ottawa team. What I do remember is (Sheldon Souray) trying to step up and hit him big and Spezz just made him look silly, said Heatley. The other version is better - if you like tabloid news. However, the Senators failed to advance past the first round following their Stanley Cup run the previous season, falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games. Spezza would soon convert many of his critics by putting together arguably his most dominant and well-rounded season in 2011-12. '"[20], Trading Heatley was a challenge due to his large contract, a contract that was to pay him approximately $7.6 million for the upcoming 200910 season, and few other NHL teams possessed the available salary cap space to accommodate it. Seeding seventh overall in the East, Ottawa met the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs, coincidentally the same first-round match-up of the previous year. In the Sharks' fourth game of the season, their home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Heatley's first game in front of the San Jose fans, Heatley capped a hat-trick with a penalty shot goal in the third period, bringing his season totals to four goals and five assists (nine points) in the first four games of the season. In 201112, Spezza was named as a permanent alternate captain for the Senators. His path to success was littered with obstacles right from the start. Then, as it turns out, Spezza was the guy who did the deed and now the two close friends are not close. In 200506, Spezza set an Ottawa Senators franchise record with 71 assists, while hitting the 90-point mark for the first of two times in his NHL career. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the National Hockey League (NHL) rookie of the year in 2002. He asked to get out (of Atlanta) and he went to a team that he obviously approved of and had some success. After a lockout delayed the start of the 2012-13 campaign, Spezza suffered a back injury that required surgery limiting him to only five regular-season games. Heatley recorded 12 points in 10 games. [60], Spezza was on the cover of the NHL 2K8 video game for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and the Xbox 360 video game consoles. Daniel "Dany" James Heatley (born January 21, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. The first is that Heatley slept with Spezza's wife. Out of the 180 goals Heatley scored in Ottawa, Spezza provided an assist on exactly 100 of them a remarkable testament to their chemistry. "We brought in a guy the results we were very happy with. Yes. Apparently, one of the players on the Ottawa Senators had slept with Heatley's fiancee. Spezza, who turned 35 this summer, was a hockey hero for more than a handful of his current teammates. That's hard for a coach to accept. [25] Spezza ultimately missed the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the 2013 playoffs. The Sharks were eliminated in the 2010 Conference Finals as, with Dany Heatley in the penalty box, the Chicago Blackhawks scored the game-winning goal, sweeping the series. In the 200203 season Heatley emerged as an NHL star, recording 41 goals and 89 points in 77 games and finishing ninth overall in league scoring. With lofty expectations for the playoffs, they were eliminated in the second round by the Buffalo Sabres. ", "Spezza headlines CHL Top Prospects game", "Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators Box Score February 9, 2008", "200910 Ottawa Senators Roster and Statistics", "Spezza trade talk could signal change of guard", "Jason Spezza Out at Least 4 to 6 Weeks with Shoulder Injury", "Senators' Jason Spezza merits Hart Trophy consideration", "Sens' Spezza to have back surgery, out minimum two months", "Spezza back as Senators set to take on Penguins in game 3", "Jason Spezza named captain of Ottawa Senators", "Jason Spezza requests trade from Ottawa Senators", "Spezza 'just a piece' to Stars' championship puzzle", "Stars, C Spezza agree on four-year, $30 million extension - TSN.ca", "Why it's fitting that Stars' Jason Spezza reached the 1,000-game milestone in Montreal", "Maple Leafs sign Free Agent center Jason Spezza", "Spezza signs one-year contract with Maple Leafs", "Spezza welcomes shot at childhood dream with Leafs", "Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza working way back into Babcock's good graces", "Maple Leafs Sign Spezza to Contract Extension", "Jason Spezza records eighth career hat trick against Canucks - Sportsnet.ca", "Leafs' Spezza suspended 6 games for kneeing Jets' Pionk in head", "Bettman reduces length of Spezza's suspension to four games", "Jason Spezza announces retirement after 19 seasons, joins Maple Leafs' front office", "Big Kids with a Big Future Two talented 16-year-olds, Jay Bouwmeester and Jason Spezza, represented Canada at the world juniors", "2009 World Championship: Goal Scoring Leaders", "Ottawa Senators centre Jason Spezza will play for Canada at Spengler Cup", "Canada defeats HC Davos in Spengler Cup final", "Canada's National Men's Team wins gold medal at 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship", "Canada wins first hockey worlds gold since 2007", "Sens @ School: Spelling with #19 Spezza", "This is Ottawa Senator Jason Spezza's Charity", "Spezza wedding attracts teammates and fans but no Heatley", "New baby for Jason Spezza and wife Jennifer", "Jason Spezza and his wife welcome their fourth child to the world Tuesday afternoon", "Jason Spezza is selling his $1.7M west-end mansion", "Jason Spezza Named Cover Athlete for NHL 2K8", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jason_Spezza&oldid=1133671186, Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland, Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States, National Hockey League first-round draft picks, Articles with dead external links from April 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Canadian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Biographical information and career statistics from, This page was last edited on 14 January 2023, at 23:59. [33], On July 1, 2019, as a free agent, Spezza signed a one-year, $700,000 contract for the 201920 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs,[34] the team he supported as a child. This was unpopular with Atlanta fans, particularly as Snyder's father Graham noted that Heatley owed much to the Thrashers' organization that had particularly been extremely supportive of him during his trial and ordeal. The first is that Heatley slept with Spezza's wife. After a slow start to the 200607 season, Heatley recorded 50 goals once more (second in the league to Vincent Lecavalier's 52 goals) and 105 points (fourth in the league). He was so good offensively that he could get away with a lot of stuff. Web

Heatley was selected as the cover player for the 2004 instalment of the EA Sports NHL video game franchise in 2003 (NHL 2004). There are two versions, one which makes more sense than the other. On December 30, 2009, Heatley was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Every day, every practice, every game was fun. And Spezza was coming into the year fresh off winning an AHL scoring title with 117 points in Binghamton in 2004-05. I think those first couple of years I was in Ottawa, we were all kind of trying to prove something. Ottawa fans booed the star centre during Game 4 of their playoff series loss to Pittsburgh in 2010, a hostile reception for a player on home ice. [13] Spezza was also awarded the Les Cunningham Award as league MVP.[14]. [12] The Senators came within one game of the Finals, losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils. [35] On signing, Spezza said, "Just to have a chance to put on a Leaf jersey is going to be pretty special for me. The Pizza Line reached its pinnacle in the spring of 2007, with the three Ottawa linemates finishing at Nos. He knew where I liked to hang and he always knew where I was.. I'll start with the disclaimer: there is no concrete evidence (and there wouldn't be for this type of thing) but there are sources. However, due to the subsequent NHL lockout, Spezza returned to the AHL in 200405. The 200809 season was a disappointing one for both Spezza and the Senators. A restricted free agent at the time of the trade, Heatley immediately signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract with the Senators. [14], Fresh off the heels of a Stanley Cup finals appearance, Heatley began the 200708 season with a new six-year contract extension with the Senators worth $45 million,[15] signed prior to the season opener against the Maple Leafs. On July 9, 2014, Heatley signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks worth $1 million. He admitted to consuming alcohol prior to the crash, but his blood-alcohol content tested below the legal limit. Heatley left the Senators under acrimonious circumstances in a 2009 trade with the San Jose Sharks. [31] On February 28, 2015, Heatley was traded to the Florida Panthers along with a 2016 third-round draft choice for Tom Fleischmann. The line was consistently among the highest-scoring in the NHL after its formation in 200506, with the trio combining for a total of 296 points that season. [24] On February 9, 2012, Heatley recorded the fastest goal in Wild history, scoring 13 seconds into a game against the Vancouver Canucks. The injury occurred in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 27. Under new head coach Paul MacLean, Spezza thrived by finishing sixth in Hart Trophy voting for league MVP that season. Playing with Spezz and Alfie was an amazing time. I just felt that we had to move him. At age one, Spezza won a baby contest and began his youth modelling career. Prior to the trade request, these concerns had been brought to the attention of management during the Senators' year-end meetings. Spezzas popularity with his ex-teammates is evident even forcing the longest-serving captain in Ottawa history to have a soft spot for the Maple Leafs this spring. Many assumed Spezzas playoff heroics would earn him a permanent spot in the Senators lineup moving forward. His offensive production improved the following season, scoring 33 goals in 75 games as the Stars qualified for the 2016 playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference. The club had a brilliant start to the 2007-08 campaign, but a tailspin that started in December plagued the club right through a first-round sweep at the hands of the upstart Pittsburgh Penguins. Ian Mendes is a senior writer covering the Ottawa Senators and the NHL for The Athletic since 2021. Despite his consistent playoff production with 76 points in 97 career playoff games Spezza could never slay that Game 7 dragon that first reared its ugly head against New Jersey in the spring of 2003. With the Presidents Trophy-winning Senators facing elimination down 3-1 in their series against New Jersey, Martin inserted Spezza into the lineup in a desperate attempt for an offensive spark. Heatley made his senior international debut with Team Canada at the 2002 World Championships, after his rookie season with the Atlanta Thrashers. [7], Heatley made a spectacular start with his new team, registering points in the first 22 games of the 200506 season, breaking Marin Hossa's previous franchise record of 13 consecutive games. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Just a phenomenal career.. I think the way we played the game at the time was a very defensive-style game, Alfredsson recalled. Heatley was selected as the cover player for the 2004 installment of the EA Sports NHL video game franchise in 2003 (NHL 2004). And then from that point on, we had unbelievable chemistry. It enables me to continue to follow my passion; learn and live new experiences within the game I love. "[36] However, Spezza was scratched for Toronto's opening night game against his former team, the Ottawa Senators, in a highly criticized move by Toronto's head coach Mike Babcock. When you have the skills of Jason and the confidence, watch out.. Heatley signed with German club, the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) on September 17, 2015. "Me and Dany were best of friends," Spezzasaid. The defendant companies named in court documents are Presidential Suites Inc., Waterfront Development Inc., McAlpine Sports Management Inc., and NSEM Management Inc.[48]. According to Entering the 2001 NHL Entry Draft having been named the Top CHL Prospect,[8] Spezza was drafted second overall by the Ottawa Senators, after Ilya Kovalchuk was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers. On March 29, 2014, Heatley was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career after being demoted to the fourth line for several games.[28]. With the Senators failing to make the NHL playoffs the following year, Spezza again represented Canada at the 2009 World Championships. [27], After the conclusion of his first season as the Senators captain in 201314, it was revealed by Senators general manager Bryan Murray that Spezza had requested a trade from the Senators. Heatley and the Senators followed up another strong regular season going all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, but finished short in five games against the Anaheim Ducks. The following season, he continued on the same pace with Heatley and Alfredsson before suffering another injury. Playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) in 200405 due to the NHL lockout, he won the Les Cunningham Award as league MVP with the Binghamton Senators. Despite trading in Heatley and Alfredsson for Milan Michalek and Colin Greening, Spezza was able to produce 84 points ranking fifth in the entire league. Internationally, Spezza represented Canada at three World Junior Championships and two World Championships. [22][23] Spezza was ultimately not a finalist for the award, finishing sixth in voting. ", "Dany Heatley heads to Germany, signs 1-year deal with Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers", "Harry Allen Memorial Trophy - Top Scorer", "Is playing without a visor worth the risk? "We had great chemistry as linemates. In the summer of 2009, Heatley was invited to Team Canada's Olympic tryout camp in Calgary, where he was booed on the ice by fans. "It's a neat exercise the guys at TSN have been going through and it's obviously nice to be included in something like that. It was just perfect, explains Heatley. And Alfredsson believes that at some point down the road, Spezza will likely have the opportunity to construct his own roster at the top of a teams hockey operations department. [15] Wingers Alfredsson and Heatley both finished tied for fourth in league scoring with 103 points, while Spezza tallied 90 points despite an injury-shortened 68-game season. [55], Spezza wed his girlfriend, Jennifer Snell, in Ottawa on July 25, 2009.

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