We have finally arrived at the top three Ottawa Senators of all-time. Today in the number three slot we look at the best center in Sens history. An ex captain and former phenomenon in Ottawa, Jason Spezza.

Jason Spezza was the best center for the Ottawa Senators in their history. Joining the team a year after being drafted 2nd overall in 2001, it didn’t take Spezza long to begin to light up the scoreboard in the NHL. He had one and a half seasons before the full season lockout. In this time he began to develop a bit of a scoring touch by scoring 55 points in 78 games.

When the lockout came Spezza spent the year in the AHL. This might have been the best thing for his development, as he was able to build his confidence by scoring 117 points in 80 games. Spezza returned to the NHL ready to be a superstar. In his first season back he scored 90 points in just 68 games.

Becoming A Superstar

Over the four seasons after the lockout, Spezza was the center of arguably the best line in hockey. He was between Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson during the best years of all of their careers. The name was aptly name the Pizza Line because the Sens had a promotion that whenever the team scored six goals everyone in the arena would get a free slice of pizza. Six goals is normally rare but with the Pizza line it became fairly frequent.

Following the departure of Heatley in 2009, Spezza would regress to slightly below a point per game but was still a star. Much of his regression could be attributed to his injury troubles.

Spezza was an assistant captain for much of his career. However, when Alfredsson left in 2013, Spezza was the obvious choice for Captain. For his final season in Ottawa, Spezza would Captain the Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately the team didn’t make the playoffs and Spezza grew frustrated with the state of the team. Following the teams Stanley Cup Final run in 2007 the team had been stuck in mediocrity. Spezza decided he wanted out. The Sens traded him to Dallas just one year after naming him Captain.

Legacy

With the trade Spezza joined an ever growing list of Sens stars who departed the team on bad terms. However, once again this doesn’t take away from just how great he was. In 686 games he put up 687 points. That’s second all-time for the Ottawa Senators and he one of just two Sens to finish his career in Ottawa with more than a point per game. Additionally, he put up those numbers while just being sixth on the Sens games played list. Having a truly elite number one center is one of the most important things in the NHL. The Sens didn’t have to worry about having one for more than a decade. They had Jason Spezza.