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Patrick Sharp May Be Headed For “Jason Spezza Effect”

By Josh Clark

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On July 10th, 2015, the Dallas Stars once again proved that they have one of the best front offices in the league. At an outdoor party event for Stars fans, the trade was announced onstage to all in attendance, as well as all over Periscope. This trade sent defenseman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for sniper forward Patrick Sharp and prospect defenseman Stephen Johns.

This trade was perceived in multiple fashions by Stars fans. Some agreed and thought the Stars had come away with a steal, while others argued that Sharp and Johns weren’t enough to counteract Daley and Garbutt’s presence on the ice and in the locker room.

But nonetheless, Patrick Sharp is in Big D and setting up to help the Stars in their potential Stanley Cup run this year.

But will he live up to the standards set for him? Or at least at some point during the season? The only issue is that Patrick Sharp may run into the “Jason Spezza effect,” which could drag him away from emitting his full potential.

The Jason Spezza effect is quite simply what most players that move to new teams go through. I took the liberty of naming it after Spezza since he is a Star and he contributed his slow start last season to the culture shock he faced last season after being traded from Ottawa to Dallas.

On exit interview day, Spezza was swarmed by members of the media, all questioning him about the same stuff: what they did wrong in 2014-2015 and how they plan on fixing it in 2015-2016.

But one member got on a bit more of a decent level. They questioned Spezza to compare his hot second part of the season to his rough first part.

“I think I was just more comfortable in the second half. I played better and understood where I was on the team,” Spezza said. “You get to know the coach and you get to know the system. I think early on in the year there’s a lot of trying to figure out guys and figure out who you’re playing with.”

“It’s easy to put five names together for a power play, but until you play together you don’t really know the little plays you have to make and who likes the puck where. It was definitely a learning process. I feel that as disappointing as the year was, we still accomplished a lot moving forward as a group. Unfortunately, we don’t get the playoff experience which is invaluable.”

Next: Jason Spezza Speaks To The Media On Exit Interview Day

After playing an entire 82-game slate in 2014-2015, Spezza ended up with a total of 17 goals and 62 points. Over the last half of the season, Spezza recorded 34 points, including 10 goals. But his slow start can be attributed to his move. After being drafted by and spending his entire career with the Ottawa Senators, he began to feel the urge to join a so-called “Stanley Cup bound” team. So after going through the trade process in June of 2014, he was traded to Dallas.

That means 1,686 miles to cover. That means packing up your entire family and NHL history. That means switching from the frozen temperatures of Ontario to the hot, dry heat of Texas. It also means meeting 22 new teammates after saying goodbye to ones that he had known forever. That means sliding into a new offensive scheme run by a new coach. Don’t forget transitioning from a first-line, relied-upon center role to a second-line, less expressed role. But Spezza seemed much more calm and comfortable in the final 41 games of the year, and even finished third place on the team in points, behind the two young superstars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. He will now look to play a big role in the Stars top six in 2015-2016. Knowing the scheme thoroughly will only aid him further in his goal.

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A move is never easy. Not only Spezza, but his counterpart Ales Hemsky had a rather disappointing year due to his move. After spending his entire career with the Edmonton Oilers, he was traded to the Senators for the final 20 games of the 2014 season. In the offseason that followed, Hemsky joined the Dallas Stars offense. But his stats at the end of the year ended up being some of the worst of his 12-year career. Head coach Lindy Ruff talked about how his depressing numbers could be blamed on the move and that Hemsky just needed time to adjust to the new environment.

So, the question now remains: will Patrick Sharp end up running into one of these setbacks in 2015-2016?

Patrick Sharp is currently 33 years old, and will be 34 in December. There is no real assurance of where he will be playing in the upcoming season, whether on the first or second line. As a flexible winger, he is able to play on the left or right wing without hesitation.

In Spezza’s case, 2014-2015 was his worst season points-wise since 2010-2011 when he tallied a total of 57. Even then, that was after a 62-game season, meaning 20 less games but only five less points.

Patrick Sharp comes to the Dallas Stars following a 43 point season, which is one of his worst seasons since joining the Blackhawks. Sharp has moved once in his career, but it was early on. The Philadelphia Flyers traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2005-2006 when he was only a third-year NHL player. His ice time was still minuscule playing in the bottom ranks, so comparing that scenario to now is not justifiable.

Sharp has been with the Blackhawks for the last ten seasons. This past year, his average ice time was cut short by over two minutes. So the drop in points does have some evidence to attach to it. So now Sharp is joining a team where he will get more minutes than last season, and he will need to make the most of them. Facing the same factors that Spezza did in moving, new team, and new scheme, Sharp will need to give it his all in order to catch on quickly enough.

Will he hit a slump early trying to get adjusted? Or will his veteran focus help him hit the ground running and not look back? He dropped 35 points between 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. With a bigger role reinstated to him, it will be interesting to see how quickly he grasps it.

Next: Rich Peverley Retires, Joins Stars Player Development Staff

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