Jason Spezza has been a regular among rumor mills in recent seasons. This year Spezza is enjoying an All-Star season and does not seem headed to be headed out of Ottawa anytime soon.

Recent years saw Jason Spezza mentioned regularly in speculative trade chatter. These days, however, all the talk is centered on the Senators pivot playing up to par with a potential hometown All-Star nod on the horizon.

Heading into Saturday's meeting with the Sabres, Spezza led the surprising Senators in scoring with 38 points in as many games. His point-per-game clip put him on pace to surpass the 80-point mark for the first time since 2007-08, when he finished with a career-high 92 points.

Spezza has been key in Ottawa's impressive season to date, along with captain Daniel Alfredsson, winger Milan Michalek and blossoming defenseman Erik Karlsson. At 28 and in his prime, the Toronto native is relishing the guidance of a new coaching staff, led by Paul MacLean.

"Mac's brought in a real intense, hard-working atmosphere where we work hard in practice but we also have a good time," Spezza noted in an interview with SensTV. "There's time to laugh and enjoy ourselves and there's also time when he gets real serious and real mad at us.

"I think it's a good mix."

In his ninth NHL season, Spezza finds himself playing under his sixth bench boss. Prior to MacLean, he'd seen four coaches come and go since the start of the 2007-08 campaign, including general manager Bryan Murray stepping in for John Paddock at the end of that season.

With the exception of Murray, the Senators have turned to rookie NHL head coaches since the lockout. MacLean was the latest on that list, following six years as an assistant in Detroit. And while it's his first go as the guy calling the shots, Murray appears to have found a solid match.

"(The respect) is mutual," Spezza said.

"He's done a real good job of talking to us and communicating to us, and there's really been no secrets."

The Senators organization, meanwhile, isn't shying away from pushing fans to vote Spezza, Alfredsson, Michalek and Karlsson into the 2012 All-Star Game, to be hosted in Ottawa. Just days before the voting was scheduled to end, Spezza had moved into the third and final starting nod among forwards. Alfredsson sat second while Maple Leafs winger Phil Kessel led the count at every position.

"Support by the fans has been phenomenal," he said of the surge. "Whether we get in or not, we're real proud of our fans and how they've supported us. If I don't get in through the votes, hopefully I can get in through merit and try to continue to play well.

"But it would definitely be something special."

Notes

As if the injury bug hadn't hurt the Sabres enough, Lindy Ruff's crew suffered another blow on Friday night against the Capitals. Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff is expected to be out weeks, according to Ruff, after suffering an upper body injury in the first period. ... Owners of a 21-2-1 record since the start of November, it would be easy for the Bruins to be relishing in their remarkable run. Instead, the defending Cup champs are keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground, which head coach Claude Julien believes has factored into their success. "Once you win the game we put ‘em aside and look at the areas we could have been better," he told the Bruins' website. "Guys know what it takes to win now, they're pretty modest with their accomplishments and instead of looking behind, were always looking ahead and look at next challenge." ... Many have called for Ron Wilson to be given the boot, given primarily the Maple Leafs' playoff drought and notable penalty-killing woes during his tenure. General manager Brian Burke dispelled any notion of a Wilson dismissal, extending his coach for what has been reported as one year. "It's easy to say ‘fire the coach' when the team isn't winning, but when you haven't given the coaching staff good enough players, I don't think it's fair," he told reporters on Monday. ... A go-to guy minutes-wise under past head coaches, Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec has seen his ice time drop of late as interim bench boss Randy Cunneyworth focuses on more balanced minutes among his top nine. His work ethic has never been an issue but lately production has been slow for the 29-year-old. "You have ups and downs as a player. You need to fight through it, work hard and play better," he told reporters on Friday after a team practice in Sunrise, Florida. "I had a good start and then I slowed down a bit, but being a veteran, I have to be better. We're in a tough spot fighting for the playoffs and we need the veterans to produce."

Photos by Getty Images

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