Thursday, September 6, 2001

Sens sign Spezza to multiyear deal

OTTAWA (CP) -- The Ottawa Senators have signed forward Jason Spezza to a multiyear deal.

The Senators selected the 18-year-old from Brampton, Ont., second overall in the NHL draft in June. Ottawa obtained the right to draft Spezza and also acquired right-winger Bill Muckalt and defenceman Zdeno Chara in a trade that sent the rights to disgruntled forward Alexei Yashin to the New York Islanders on draft day.

Spezza, who twice won bronze with the Canadian junior team playing for the team at the age of 16 and 17, had 36 goals and 50 assists in 41 games for the OHL's Windsor Spitfires last season. He began the season with the Mississauga IceDogs, with seven goals and 23 assists in 15 games, but requested to be traded and was dealt to the Spitfires in November.

This summer, Spezza passed on an initiation to the Canadian junior team's summer camp because he said he wanted to prepare for his first NHL camp.

Spezza was the youngest player every to participate in an OHL all-star game at the age of 15, when he played major junior as an underage with the Brampton Battalion.