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OTTAWA - For the second straight year the Ottawa Senators have lost their captain on the opening day of NHL free agency. The Senators traded Jason Spezza, who was coming off his first year as captain, to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday for winger Alex Chiasson along with prospects Alex Guptill, Nicholas Paul and a second-round pick in 2015. Ottawa prospect Ludwig Karlsson was also part of the trade. Last year the Senators bid farewell to longtime captain Daniel Alfredsson after he chose to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. News of Spezzas departure was much less shocking to Senators fans, as the 31-year-old had requested a trade following the end of the season. It was a combination of things and the fact I have one year left on my deal, said Spezza, when asked for the reasons behind the trade request. Only having one year left on my contract I thought it was fair talking to Bryan (Murray) now so we dont get into a situation next year where were always talking about if Im extending or why Im not extending or whats going on moving forward. I felt like it was best for me to move on and this was the appropriate time to take care of all this through the summer so that I can have a fresh start during the season and move on and the team can move on as well. Senators general manager Bryan Murray acknowledged this was a very difficult deal to be made. As I said all along you dont get equal value for a skilled point getter, but with the request being three or four times made to us, and in spite of what everybody else says we didnt encourage any movement, we were asked if it would happen, said Murray. I didnt want to go through another summer of issues a€| Dallas was the one option that I had. Jim Nill was very straightforward in what he could offer me. Murray told reporters that a contract extension had been offered and refused by Spezza. He said three trade offers had been in play at the NHL draft last weekend, but disappeared as the days went by leaving the Dallas offer as the lone deal on the table. The Senators would like to add another centre to their lineup and Murray said hes working on a deal that he hopes to finalize soon. With Spezzas departure Murray sees the Senators forging a new identity and believes Chiasson will fit right in. Weve always wanted to shift to a hard working, competitive team that we had two years ago and then last year for some reason we got off the track, said Murray. Were going to try and get that back on track. Chiasson, who had 13 goals and 35 points with the Stars last season, is the centrepiece of the trade, but in no way will the 23-year-old replace Spezza. Love him or hate him, Spezza was a point-per-game player over his 11 seasons with the Senators. In 686 games Spezza scored 251 goals and had 687 points. Spezza is in the final year of his contract with a $7 million cap hit and $4 million in actual salary. Over the course of his career Spezza has often been a lightning rod for criticism, and things seemed to come to a head this season for the veteran centre. When asked whether or not he felt the criticism was fair, Spezza said it came with the responsibility of being a star player. I was the highest paid guy on the team and the guy who had been there for a long time so fingers were pointed at me at times, but I also got credit at times, Spezza said. When you play in a Canadian market and you play in a city like that and youre in the same spot for a long time if you expect not to have the finger pointing you have unrealistic expectations. So at times the finger was pointing at me, but it was the reality of the situation that I was in. Spezza said his decision didnt come lightly and that he will miss many things about Ottawa, but in the end he was looking for a team that would give him the best chance at winning a Stanley Cup. Fans will remember that Alfredsson uttered nearly the exact same words last year after signing with Detroit. With two of its top players bolting from the organization one has to wonder what effect this will have on the Senators reputation. Murray is clearly frustrated by the perception that Ottawa is being viewed as a frugal team thats not willing to spend. Ive never had one player Ive called and asked if they would be interested in coming to Ottawa say No Im worried about the money on your team and I wouldnt come, said Murray. Perception is what you make it to be and what you really believe to be true. I think players know they come here and are treated well. Despite losing Spezza and Alfredsson in the span of two years, Murray said the team wont be forced to go into a rebuild. No, were past that, said Murray. Were going to have a good hockey team. Were going to compete. We lose a little bit at centre ice, we gain a little bit on the wing, weve got a couple of young guys coming that are going to be a different brand of playera€|I think our team is going to be really competitive, hard working group of people. I think were going to be well off going forward. Joining Spezza in Dallas is Ales Hemsky, who turned down an offer from the Senators for a contract extension. Hemsky was acquired at the trade deadline and showed chemistry with Spezza, but knowing the captain wanted out left Hemsky with little reason to remain in Ottawa. Both players said they were looking forward to being reunited in Dallas. The Senators did re-sign left-wing Milan Michalek to a three-year, $12-million contract Tuesday. Murray said Michalek had been offered a five-year offer elsewhere, but chose to remain in Ottawa. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Three days after falling to Hamilton, Abbotsford scored three goals in 53 seconds en route to a convincing 5-1 win over the Bulldogs Saturday in American Hockey League play. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. Its great to be back for another season in Banditland, and Im looking forward to another competitive season with my teammates, said Tavares. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Maricopa County spokeswoman Cari Gerchick says thats the finding from an autopsy conducted Thursday by the county Medical Examiners Office. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The premature end left 26 players still to finish the round in the Asian Tour event. Siddikur, who shot a bogey-free first round to share the lead with five others, eagled the par-5 first hole before bogeying twice and rebounding with six birdies.The worlds 10 best players have been whittled down to four so it is time to remember why Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis deserve their places in the Premier League Darts play-offs, which take place at The O2 on Thursday, live on Sky Sports. Michael van GerwenIt seems a long time ago that Van Gerwen started the season with a 4-7 defeat to James Wade in Leeds and perhaps therein lies the secret to defeating the mighty Dutchman. Check out MVGs only loss of the season so far... Back-to-back wins over fellow semi-finalists Anderson and Lewis, in Newcastle and Dublin respectively, were followed by a 7-1 thrashing of Michael Smith that yielded a 123 average, the highest in televised history. He stormed to the top of the league with a 7-2 win against Peter Wright in Exeter that sparked debate about whether he is already the greatest player in the history of darts. A top-of-the-table clash against Taylor in Glasgow saw Van Gerwen relinquish a 5-1 lead to draw 6-6. Michael van Gerwen missed three winning darts against Phil Taylor He made it three draws in a row after Robert Thornton and Raymond van Barneveld caused him to wobble in Liverpool and Cardiff, handing top spot to Taylor.He drew with Anderson then beat Lewis to solidify his play-off push before a 7-1 win against Wade put him top of the league. Even missing a nine-darter with his final arrow could not prevent Van Gerwen picking up maximum points against Van Barneveld in Manchester. Michael van Gerwen almost pulled off a nine-darter against Raymond van Barneveld Van Gerwen finished the regular season in No 1 spot on leg-difference after besting Taylor 7-5 in his home country of the Netherlands.Phil TaylorA thumping 2-7 loss on the opening night to Van Barneveld was not what the doctor ordered, but Taylor rebounded with wins against Wade in Newcastle and Anderson in Dublin. The 16-time world champion proved he meant business with a whitewash over Thornton in the sixth week.Taylor brilliantly recovered from 5-1 down to Van Gerwen in Glasgow to snatch a draw, then was typically ruthless as he eliminated Michael Smith from the tournament with a 7-5 win on Judgement Night. Phil Taylor eliminated Michael Smith from the tournament He then dispatched Anderson 7-3 in Sheffield before extending his lead at the top of the table to five points with a 7-5 victory over long-time rival Van Barneveld in Belfast. The winning leg as Phil Taylor trumpped Barney A 7-4 loss to Wright never caused a major blip and Taylor responded with a 7-2 thrashing over fellow semi-finalist Lewis before losing to Van Gerwen in Rotterdam, resulting in a second-placed finish.dddddddddddd This 7-2 win against Robert Thornton guaranteed Phil Taylor a play-off spot Gary AndersonAndersons Premier League title defence began bizarrely as he was ruled out of the opening night due to illness, meaning he debuted a week late with a 7-3 loss to Van Gerwen in Newcastle before losing 7-4 to Taylor in Dublin. Gary Anderson suffered an early loss to MVG The Flying Scotsman finally started putting points on the board before a bumper night in Glasgow, spurred on by his compatriots, resulted in two wins over Lewis and Wright.He even picked up a point despite oddly losing count against Wade in Cardiff as the play-offs began to present themselves. A second loss of the season to Taylor was followed by a thrilling 6-6 draw with Van Gerwen in Belfast. Watch the moment Gary Anderson got his numbers horribly wrong Needing to scrap to stay ahead of the chasing pack, Anderson edged past Van Barneveld before drawing with Wade to confirm his inclusion. A defeat on the final day to Lewis did nothing to damage Andersons third-place finish.Adrian LewisThe Stoke thrower started with back-to-back wins against Smith and Dave Chisnall, who would eventually be eliminated on Judgement Night, but ran out of ideas in a third-week loss to Van Gerwen. A sensational final leg between Adrian Lewis and James Wade Further defeats to Taylor, Wright and Anderson forced Lewis to scramble around mid-table but he responded with a much-needed win against Van Barneveld in Liverpool.He eventually struck the most eye-catching moment of the season with a nine-darter against Wade in Belfast en route to a 7-5 win that put him in the drivers seat for fourth-place. Watch Adrian Lewis hit a nine-darter A final night 7-2 win against Anderson confirmed his play-off spot - the result is the only time that Lewis has beaten any of his top four rivals so far this season.Watch the Premier League Darts play-offs from The O2 Arena on Thursday at 7pm, Sky Sports 2 HD. Also See: MVG quickfire quiz PL Darts talking points Prem Table Darts betting ' ' '