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Ottawa Sun sports editor sounds off about Spezza rumors, points finger at Internet

Image (1) Spezza-thumb-250x375-14084.jpg for post 2335

The chatter in Ottawa before the NHL Draft was about whether or not the Senators would be pursuing a trade of their top centerman, Jason Spezza. There’s been stories written about whether or not Spezza has his heart in it or not to stay in Ottawa and Sens GM Bryan Murray then declaring that Spezza would not be dealt. As it goes with stories of this magnitude, once it’s out there it sort of stays there.

As happens on occasion, folks working in traditional media seem to find fault with the ways news and rumor can get around and Ottawa Sun sports editor Tim Baines is sick of the discussion one way or another. Baines decided to vent about it on his own blog on the Ottawa Sun’s website. He gets upset about one loony rumor he read on a blog and tees off from there. Hang on to your hats and make sure your “irony meter” is plugged in for this one.

I find it funny that, on one hand, we are criticized for being too home-teamish. And on the other, we’re over-the-top anti-Senators.


We make decisions every day on which stories will be played up. Which stories merit space in the paper. You think the guys are making stories up. Unlike some local hacks who live in their mothers’ basements and throw enough crap out there until some of it sticks, our guys have sources -- GMs, scouts, management-types.

If you correctly predicted the overused and tired remark about a blogger living in their mom’s basement then you’ve seen this sort of awful shtick before from someone who is slow to come to grips with the changing landscape of media. In this case, it’s clear that Baines is sick of getting nasty letters and e-mails from Sens fans of all kinds and decided that it’s all the Internet’s fault. Apparently killing the messenger is all the rage these days.

Fact is, and Baines readily admits it, that this all started with Ottawa Sun reporter Don Brennan’s own story about Spezza and about how the team should seek to deal him now before it turns into another Dany Heatley situation.

That Spezza has left his GM with the understanding he wouldn’t “object” to a trade for two months is pretty close to the same as him saying he wants to be moved, in my books.

And while it will be difficult to find a team to take on his salary -- plus come up with a point-a-game first line centre to replace him -- it would be much harder to trade Spezza for anything close to equal value after July 1.

In fact, Spezza might not have what it takes to lead the Senators back to the finals in the post-Alfredsson era in any event.

So unless they don’t want to deal him before the expiration of his contract in 2015, the time to do it is now.

Forgive me for perhaps being naive here but when you throw that sort of chum into the shark-filled waters of the hockey realm and you’re the sports editor giving the thumbs-up to this off-hand theorizing, snapping off and blaming the bloggers for going a bit crazy over the news created from it seems short-sighted and petulant. You reap what you sow, and in this case, Tim Baines is uncomfortable with the stir caused by one of his own writers but that’s everyone else’s fault for getting worked up over it.