DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 27: Jason Spezza #90 and Patrick Sharp #10 of the Dallas Stars try to keep the puck away against Hampus Lindholm #47 of the Anaheim Ducks at the American Airlines Center on October 27, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES – The transition of Patrick Sharp and Jason Spezza to wily veterans happened almost overnight.

When both were traded to the Dallas Stars, Spezza from the Ottawa Senators in the 2014 offseason and Sharp from the Chicago Blackhawks in summer of 2015 they suddenly had to take on different roles. They were no longer part of a core that came up and learned how to win together.

They were outsiders tasked with helping to show the Stars’ younger group the way.

While both still believe they have a lot to give at the NHL level, both players have embraced their current older roles with the team.

“I feel like I don’t force anything. It’s just kind of natural and you’re more mature in where you are in life," Spezza said. "I have a family now and responsibilities and you know you have to make sure you’re responsible off the ice too, so I think that kind of puts you in the situation to be experienced and be a leader like that.”

Spezza, 32, was picked No. 2 overall by the Senators in the 2001 draft, and developed with a group through the minors and into the NHL.

Antoine Vermette, Spezza, Mike Fisher, Ray Emery and Anton Volchenkov all came up around the same time with Spezza. They presented the future and the present of the Senators.

Fisher was traded in 2010-11, which was the beginning of the end for that group. By the time the 2013-14 season ended, the Senators missed the playoffs, Spezza was 30 and the team was being turned over to the likes of Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris.

Spezza asked for a trade, and was dealt to Dallas in the summer of 2014. Part of the reason for bringing in Spezza was to help guide young center Tyler Seguin. Both were No. 2 overall picks and saw expectations heaped upon them at a young age. Even though Seguin, 23, won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins as a rookie in 2010-11, he still needed someone on the roster to help him mature as a player and a person. Spezza, a family man, was the perfect choice.

“There’s lots of similarities,” Spezza said. “We’re both offensive guys. It think it was a good change for him coming to Dallas. I think he got kind of a bad rap in Boston and he’s done great here. We’re both from Toronto. We see each other in the summer. I knew him a tiny bit beforehand. He probably watched me play growing up. There’s definitely parallels there.”

In Spezza, Seguin sees himself in several years, so when Spezza speaks about the life of an NHL player and the highs and the lows, Seguin listens. Spezza has 36 points in 47 games this year.

“We talk in general like with your body when you hit a certain age you’ll have to – you look at how much the older guys stretch or how much they focus on their diet,” Seguin said. “That stuff is going to come and we’ve touched on a little bit.”

In Chicago, Sharp’s accomplishments blended in with those of his teammates. He won three Stanley Cups, but several others had won the same amount. He wasn’t quite looked upon as the same level as Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane – even though he was a key component to the group.

When the Blackhawks needed to jettison some money last summer as part of a salary cap crunch, they chose Sharp's $5.9 million cap hit.

With the Stars, the 34-year-old Sharp is now ‘the guy’ with three Stanley Cups in locker room. He’s seen a lot of different situations during his time in the NHL and the Stars lean on him as a calming presence.

“You try to understand that it’s an 82-game grind,” Sharp said. “You want to get better as the season goes on. Make sure you’re playing your best hockey when it counts and get out of these little valleys as quickly as we can.”

Sharp has embraced this role and regained his scoring touch with 38 points in 47 games. Last season he had 43 points in 68 games. His 16 goals equals his total from a year ago.

“My wife enjoys Texas, She really likes the weather. The kids are in school and having fun. It’s a tough transition leaving a city you’ve been in for 10 years but the people in Dallas have been great,” Sharp said. “It took a little while to adjust to how they play (here) and learn each other’s tendencies. I think we’ve had some good stretches and some stretches where we can be better. We’re satisfied with where we’re at at this point in the season. We know our season is going to be defined with how we play in our division in the second half.”

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