Dallas Stars: What a Jason Spezza Contract Extension Might Look Like

Jason Spezza signed an extension with the Dallas Stars in 2015, but that contract expires next summer.

It was generally expected that he’d leave the Dallas Stars after this season, since he came at a high cost for a team with a lot of young talent needing extensions.

Now, Jason Spezza has come out and said he’s willing to take a pay cut to stay in Dallas and let those younger players get the money instead.

It’s a noble thing for him to do, but he’s always been a good guy in this league. He’s got a great reputation and this adds to it.

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Of course, that’s not to say he’s not potentially being a little selfish if he believes this team can go far and that his contract money is the difference maker. He’ll be 36 next season and he still doesn’t have a Cup. The Senators came close in 2007, but they couldn’t seal the deal. If he thinks taking a smaller deal with the Stars could potentially translate into a Cup before he retires, why not take less money?

It’s true that Spezza has made a lot of money in his career, and he said so himself, though the players don’t actually take home the amount of money that’s on the cap hit. They have to pay into taxes, escrow, agent fees, and other expenses, but they certainly make a lot more than most of us.

If he’s made wise decisions with that money, he should be able to support his family just fine for a long time, and that’s if he doesn’t work in the business after he retires.

So, if Spezza is willing to take a smaller deal, what could it look like?

Stars fans don’t have to look hard to find one example of this. Last season, Patrick Sharp left Dallas to return to Chicago on a very cheap deal for the Blackhawks. He signed for one year at $800,000, and then retired at the end of the year. Now, he’s working for Chicago’s broadcast team with best friend Adam Burish.

Of course, Sharp had a rough last year in Dallas, playing in only half of the games that season. Spezza is not having a year like that so far (knock on wood!). Instead, Spezza is making his case that the Stars should absolutely keep him around if he’s willing to take a pay cut.

Where Spezza’s deal falls will depend on how he plays this season, but it’s nice to see that he’s willing to work with the team on a good deal to start with.

He’s making $7.5M right now. Even if he goes somewhere else, he’s going to have a hard time finding someone to match that deal, considering his age and play at this point. There’s always at least a GM or two ready to make a bad decision during free agency, so it’s not out of the question that someone offers him an $8M AAV, 8-year contract that makes every hockey fan on Twitter explode simultaneously, but realistically, he’s not going to get that much.

However, depending on length, it’s certainly not unreasonable to think he might be able to find a GM to offer him $4M or $5M if he keeps having a solid year. If that production falls off, coupled with his performance last year, that’s a different story.

If he’s willing to take a discount to stay with the Stars and maybe go for closer to $2.5M for a year or two, that would be amazing for the team.

Marc Methot‘s deal also comes off the books next year, and that should pay for the raises for Esa Lindell and Julius Honka with a good chunk left over, but Spezza’s contract will need to pay for the bulk of the forwards. That includes Tyler Seguin‘s raise, but also Mattias Janmark, Brett Ritchie, Gemel Smith, and Jason Dickinson. The Stars will also have Antti Niemi‘s buyout off the books, but that’s a lot of players who need more money, and that’s without signing anyone new.

If the Stars can do bridge deals with all but Janmark, that would help push off the burden for another year, when Martin Hanzal‘s contract is up as well to cover the costs. However, that summer’s expiring contracts already include Radek Faksa, Devin Shore, Tyler Pitlick, and Valeri Nichushkin, so the Stars will still have some decisions to make, but it would at least help the situation.

No matter what the cost of Spezza’s deal, expect it to come later in the season or potentially in the off-season, as the team waits to see what happens with injuries and how Spezza is performing.