Spezza traded to Stars: 'I feel like I have a lot of good hockey left in me'

The Dallas Stars were big news makers on the first day of the NHL's free agency signing period, but they made their noise mainly via trade, acquiring Jason Spezza from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Alex Chiasson, prospects Alex Guptill and Nick Paul and a second round pick in 2015.

Upon making his trade request known to Senators general manager Bryan Murray, it became apparent that Dallas was one of Spezza's desired landing spots, a sentiment he made public during a conference call Tuesday afternoon.

Via the Stars official website:

I just really felt that Dallas was a fit for me and that’s why it was a team that I had targeted to want to go to. I have a relationship with [Stars coach] Lindy [Ruff]. He’s coached me at World Championships. I think the young group they have is an envy of a lot of the league, and I think I could fit in with helping out with the depth at center, maybe an area they needed help with. 

So, I feel like I have a lot of good hockey left in me and I felt really good about my game the second half of the season. I’m excited. I think I could bring a lot to a team. I’ve been around for a long time now, learned a lot and think I could pass that on in a different setting as well.

Spezza is also looking forward to playing with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn - who he calls "phenomenal, phenomenal hockey players" - saying "it's a great situation for me to be on a team with such talented guys, that’s for sure.”

Stars general manager Jim Nill also managed to lock up free agent forward Ales Hemsky, with whom Spezza enjoyed a measure of success during their limited time together in Ottawa at the end of the 2013-14 season. 

Nill admitted they were targeting Hemsky with or without the addition of Spezza, with their chemistry serving as an added bonus.

We’re excited about the chemistry. We actually had Ales targeted even before we made the trade. If this fell through, he was someone we were still going to go after. We thought he’d have great chemistry with Benn and Seguin also, so we think he’s a great fit for our team. He’s highly skilled. He’s a great passer and I think when you start putting him with shooters like Benn, Seguin, Spezza, I think people are going to be excited to watch the style of hockey that’s being played.

Exciting times in Dallas, and these Stars appear set to shine bright next season.