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Toronto Maple Leafs: Jason Spezza Just Continues to Impress

By Jeremy Ridgewell

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 7: Jason Spezza #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Ducks 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 7: Jason Spezza #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Ducks 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are benefitting from having a player like Jason Spezza on their team. On the ice, he has proven that he can still play at the NHL level regularly.

An afterthought when he was first signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs (Mike Babcock didn’t even dress him for his first game) Spezza has piled up points in limited ice-time and provided the team with an absolute ton of value.

What Spezza brings to this Maple Leafs team goes beyond what he does on the ice. His leadership in the dressing room is nothing short of phenominal.  The younger players on the team can learn so much from a player like Spezza.

As a fan, it is so fun to watch Spezza having success with the team he grew up cheering for and showing that he is still having fun playing the game he loves.

Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Jason Spezza Reaches Career Milestones

Back in January, I wrote an article about all the different milestones that Spezza and other Leafs players could reach this season. For Spezza, I had listed three milestones that were possible for him to achieve and he has achieved all three of them.

This season has seen Spezza pass the 1,150 games played milestone as he is currently at 1,161 games played. He has also passed the 600 assists milestone and currently has 611 assists. With his goal against the Calgary Flames on Monday night, Spezza achieved two milestones. That goal was his 350th career NHL goal and that point moved Spezza into sole possession of spot 100 on the NHL’s top 100 for points.

Spezza now has 961 career NHL points and is just six points away from passing both Nicklas Backstrom (966) and Maurice Richard (966) for spot number 98 All-Time. Hopefully, he can achieve that this season with 17 games remaining.

Since Spezza joined the team last season, he has not shied away from teaching the younger players all he knows. From staying late after practice to give Leafs prospect Nick Robertson some pointers to helping Auston Matthews with his faceoff technique, Spezza’s leadership is leaving its mark on this team.

One of the underlining reasons as to why the Maple Leafs are having such a good season is the veteran leadership that general manager Kyle Dubas has brought in. The knowledge that is being passed on by Spezza, Joe Thornton, and Wayne Simmonds is having a huge impact on this team.

Next. Leafs Second Line Is Taking Them Places. dark

Jason Spezza has been a great addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs and with 17 games remaining in the 2020-21 season, he will be looking to help the Leafs finish first in their division.  Once that is achieved, he will be looking to help the Leafs finally find some success in the playoffs. Spezza has had a wonderful career, but he would love to cap it off with a Stanley Cup while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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