Jason Spezza’s Departure Hurts the Toronto Maple Leafs

Jason Spezza spent the last three seasons of his playing career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, before jumping upstairs last year to join the front office staff.

Most game nights, he could be seen with General Manager Kyle Dubas and Assistant GM Brandon Pridham watching the Toronto Maple Leafs from the press box.

In his relatively short time as a Leaf, Spezza earned a ton of respect as a player who wore his heart on his sleeve and would do just about anything to help the  Leafs win.

In his late thirties and well past his prime, he still managed to squeeze the maximum out of his limited fourth line ice time, whether it be a timely goal, a momentum-changing hit, or simply a high energy shift.

Toronto Maple Leafs Will Miss Spezza

Spezza played his final years for minimum salary and probably would have played for free.  He clearly loved the game, and developed a strong bond with his younger Toronto teammates.  When placed on waivers due to salary cap juggling, Spezza said that he would retire if any other teams claimed him.  It was the Toronto Maple Leafs or nothing for the veteran forward.

If this sounds like a eulogy, in some ways it is.

Shortly before Team President Brendan Shanahan’s Friday press conference, in which he discussed the termination of Kyle Dubas’ tenure with the organization, Jason Spezza handed in his own resignation.

Hired by Dubas as a “special assistant” to the general manager, the two men were close, and Spezza was obviously upset that his friend and mentor would not be returning next season.  If Dubas had clearly declined to continue in the GM role due to family issues, this may have played out differently.

Instead, there appears to be more of the story yet to be told.  Shanahan is being portrayed as the bad guy by many commentators, as he and Dubas were very close to an agreement before Shanahan decided to pull the plug at the last moment and go in a different direction.

One can argue whether or not a change in the general manager’s chair is good for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but I can’t think of any reason why anybody would be glad to see the back of Jason Spezza.

Was Spezza ready to take over now as a general manager?  No, of course not.  Despite most fans thinking they could easily do the job, it takes years of work to learn the ropes of the CBA, contract negotiations, salary cap management, build up contacts and establish relationships with other teams’ people.

The real loss is what message Spezza’s departure sends to others in the hockey world.  For those of us old enough to remember back a few decades (particularly the Harold Ballard years), the Toronto Maple Leafs were the clown show of the NHL.  They couldn’t do anything right.

Despite the lack of playoff success under the “Shanaplan”, Toronto has cultivated a highly respected organization, where the players receive the best training staffs, facilities, on and off ice development, etc , and project an image of caring about every member of the team.  Off the ice, they are the envy of every team in the league.

If an insider like Jason Spezza, who has bled blue for the Leafs for the last four years, decides he no longer wants to be part of things, what does that say to players who might be considering playing for the Leafs?  Or ones already with the team and wondering whether or not to re-sign with Toronto, or go somewhere else in free agency?

It tells me that something is wrong on Front Street.

There’s still hope that Shanahan can bring in the right person to push the team over the hump and end the talk of 1967.  There is, after all, a pretty darn good group of young players on the roster.

But the vibes generated by Spezza’s resignation have many fans worrying about what’s next.  We don’t know what’s happening in the front office, and that brings back visions of a return to the bad old days.