In spite of the fact that Jason Spezza was not playing his best hockey for the Ottawa Senators, his knee injury leaves a gaping hole in their lineup that won't be easy to fill.
A lot of people will suggest that the Senators need to go outside of the organization to find the solution, which is to try and make a trade. The simple fact of the matter is, in a salary cap world they have precious little financial flexibility and, unless another team is willing to take some salary off their hands - and that's not likely to happen - the answer is not outside.
So look inside.
Josh Hennessy could come up from the minors where he was playing well, or you take a guy like Jesse Winchester who has been a depth player and give him more of a prime-time role and see if he can step up in the interim and help fill the void created by Spezza's injury.
As for what implications this might have on the Canadian Olympic team, the answer of course is none.
Spezza was not a strong consideration to begin the season, and the fact that he hasn't been lighting it up only reinforces that fact. So, this doesn't affect Steve Yzerman nearly as much as it does the Ottawa Senators.
