The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Replace Spezza with Thornton

For the second straight offseason,Toronto Maple Leafs Kyle Dubas managed to ink a free agent looking to come home and chase a cup.

On July 1st, 2019, the Toronto Maple Leafs made the contract signing official and announced they had brought home the veteran from Mississauga, Ontario to take the reigns as the team’s fourth-line center. Spezza, having suited up for more than 1000 games entering the season, got off to an extremely rocky start with then-Leafs coach Mike Babcock.

Scratched on opening night in front of his family, after taking a hometown discount to play for his childhood team, Spezza just never seemed to click with the veteran coach. After Babcock was let go and Sheldon Keefe was brought in, Spezza was finally able to hold onto his spot in the lineup.

Scoring 9 goals and 16 points while only playing 10:50 a night (stats; hockey-reference), Spezza provided tremendous value for the Leafs on a league-minimum contract – the kind of value Dubas’ needs to find in order to accommodate his high priced forwards.

Likewise, the off-ice intangibles Spezza brought to this organization cannot be forgotten. His veteran leadership and mentorship of Toronto’s young core (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander namely) reaped incredible rewards this season and will continue to do so for years to come.

Jason Spezza’s tenure in Toronto was one of the few bright spots for this organization in 2019-20. Sadly, there is only room for one 35+, league-minimum contract on this roster and it is time to allow another Ontario-born centerman the chance to play for his childhood team and chase a cup.

Welcome to the 2020-21 Toronto Maple Leafs, Joe Thornton!

Well first, the question must be asked…

Would Joe Thornton even sign here?

Around the Trade Deadline, Elliotte Friedman dropped a rumour grenade surrounding Kyle Dubas, the Leafs and Joe Thornton, indicating the franchise had an interest in adding the 41-year-old. Friedman had this to say in his weekly “31 Thoughts” article:

"If Thornton is not sold on the Sharks, and he’s willing to seek out new life (boldly go where no one has gone before), my prediction is Toronto will be a factor. I can’t confirm this, but I believe the Maple Leafs considered adding him now. Two things stopped it: 1) their decision not to make short-term fixes after the Carolina loss, and 2) are they really a legit contender if they have to go through Boston or Tampa Bay or both? When GM Kyle Dubas said he wanted to see how his group would respond to its tough stretch, he meant it. Thornton would have eased the tension right now, but the organization wants to see how everyone top to bottom reacts and performs. Next season is a different story."

Leafsnation was intrigued at the possibility of potentially adding a depth addition like ‘Jumbo’ Joe, however, suggested it is all very well that Toronto has an interest in Thornton, but does Thornton have interest in Toronto. Friedman later followed up that excerpt with this little tidbit, really blowing it up.

"Thornton’s made it clear he will make his salary fit. He’s a left-hand shot who could feed Auston Matthews/John Tavares from his strong side."

So not only does Toronto have an interest in him but Thornton will even take less money if it means suiting up for the Blue and White. Plus, it seems as if he is drooling over the possibility of lining up alongside one of Auston Matthews and John Tavares and how dangerous the duo could be with him feeding those two from his strong side.

More so, it is interesting to hear both the Leafs and Spezza talk about their futures. Both sides seem to want to work out a new deal for next season, however, if the mutual interest between them is burning, then why hasn’t an extension been agreed on? One would think if there was serious interest then a contract for next season would have been signed already. Makes it seem as if Toronto has other plans for their fourth-line center role and Spezza is more of a plan B.

But, Would Thornton Even Be an Upgrade Over Spezza?

Thornton would undoubtedly be a better fit in Toronto’s bottom six than Spezza. The biggest addition would be his grit and nastiness he brings every night. Toronto has long been criticized for being too “soft” and not having enough hard-nosed players. Spezza fits that bill, Thornton does not.

For his career, Spezza is averaging 0.24 hits/game. For Thornton, he is almost triple that at 0.66 hits/game (stats; hockey-reference.com). Furthermore, Thornton has shown more of a willingness to drop the gloves with the opposition, registering 27 fighting majors for his career to Spezza’s six (stats; hockeyfights.com).

Looking at both players’ raw stats, Thornton has been a significantly better point producer over the last three years. Thornton is averaging 0.7 goals/60 and 2.3 points/60 compared to Spezza’s 0.57 goals/60 and 1.77 points/60. (stats; evolving-hockey.com)

Thornton also has the advanced metrics to back up the idea he would be an upgrade over Spezza. Take a look at both players Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus (RAPM) at even-strength over the same time period. (stats; evolving-hockey.com)

While the Sharks had a down year as a whole this past season, in 2018-19 Thornton was flat out dominant on both ends of the ice and on the powerplay.

It does seem as if Thornton would be an upgrade.

It remains to be seen what other moves Kyle Dubas will be making to revamp the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, a significantly improved bottom six would go a long way in aiding this team in their achieving postseason goals, and starting with inking ‘Jumbo’ Joe Thornton is a massive first step.