Jason Spezza joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer signing a league minimum $700k deal.
He was on board with the Toronto Maple Leafs and helping them win a Stanley Cup. But now — that may not be the case.
Spezza could be one of three players waived in order to fit Zach Hyman’s cap hit once returning from knee surgery. And it seems to get more likely, day by day.
The 36-year-old last played on November 2nd, where he scored a goal and an assist, while also adding a shootout goal to keep the Toronto Maple Leafs alive.
Fans witnessed how important he was that game and there’s plenty of reasons why I think it wouldn’t help if the Toronto Maple Leafs were to waive him.
If they do end up waiving him, I think it will be one of the worst moves of the season.
Spezza is one of the pieces to the puzzle, accept it.
While Nick Shore and Dmytro Timashov have been good — they don’t have one trait that Spezza brings to the table; experience.
Spezza was among the 1st guys on the ice at practice
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 6, 2019
36-yr-old was the last player to leave
"I love being around the guys," he said. "I love being around the game"
Tavares calls him "a real leader"
Marner: "His attitude's been unbelievable"https://t.co/nBy235R230
He helps Mitch Marner get better at faceoffs at practice and Marner has even said that Spezza gives him pointers throughout games.
In the words of Toronto Maple Leafs captain, John Tavares, he’s “a real leader” and to me, you don’t let those players go.
Spezza may have a lot of miles under his belt, but if he’s one of the first and last players on the ice, he’s still got lots of gas left in the tank. And even his point total shows that.
Four points in nine games. If he was to play 65 games by the end of the season, he’s on pace for 28 points. Not bad for a 4th line player who’s played over 1000 games in the NHL.
The veteran also leads the three players (Timashov and Shore) in CF% with a 57.3 rating, which is also ranked 5th on the team.
With the experience, work ethic and skill that Spezza holds, I think it wouldn’t be dumb to waive him. Keeping him would be a smart move because I think he’s one of the key pieces to this group.
I believe at this stage of how the team is progressing, it wouldn’t be very much help if Spezza had to walk out the door. The team needs the experience that he has, because if not, who are they going to get it from?
Tavares has that experience, but even he can learn a thing or two from Spezza. He’s got seven more years of experience, and that’s a lot more than you may think.
If this team wants to move forward, I believe that keeping the 36-year-old is the best idea. With everything he brings to the table, I think it would be stupid for the Toronto Maple Leafs to waive him.