A look back at an impressive NHL career for Jason Spezza
Jason Spezza was originally drafted second overall in the 2001 entry draft. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators after a blockbuster trade that sent Alexei Yashin to the New York Islanders. In exchange, the Senators received the second overall pick (Jason Spezza), Bill Muckalt, and Zdeno Chara. The trade would ultimately help shape the Senators into Eastern Conference juggernauts for years to come.
Spezza would go on to play eleven seasons with the Ottawa Senators. He was instrumental in the Senators 2007 Stanley Cup Playoff run, scoring 22 points (7 goals & 15 assists) in 20 games. He and linemates Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley shared the league lead in playoff scoring that season with 22 points each. The Sens ultimately lost in the finals to the Anaheim Ducks.
Spezza played his best hockey from 2006-2008, forming the best line in hockey at the time playing between Alfredsson and Heatley. During these three years, Spezza had 269 points (87 goals & 182 assists) in 211 games. That is an average of 1.27 points per game, good for third in the league during that timespan, behind only Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby.
Spezza was an alternate captain for three years before dawning the C for the Senators in the 2013-14 season. He sits second in Senator all-time scoring with 687 points in 686 games, behind only Hall of Famer Daniel Alfredsson. After failing to make the playoffs in 2014, and with only one year left on his contract, Spezza was traded to the Dallas Stars along with Ludwig Karlsson in exchange for two prospects (Nick Paul and Alexander Guptill), a young Alex Chiasson and a 2nd round draft pick.
Upon arriving in Dallas he immediately signed a four year extension worth 30 million dollars (7.5 million AAV). The idea for the Stars at the time was that the 31-year-old Spezza could play as the teams second line center behind emerging star Tyler Seguin. This worked well for the first three seasons, as Spezza finished third in team scoring in each of those seasons. However, Spezza struggled in his final two years with the Stars, scoring 26 and 27 points respectively. By the final year of his contract, he had been demoted to the teams fourth line.
Not ready to call it a career, Spezza signed with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs for a league minimum contract. Despite being made a healthy scratch by former Leaf coach Mike Babcock in what would have been his home debut with the team against the Ottawa Senators, he went on to play his final three years here in Toronto. Spezza became a fan favorite and a staple on the Leafs fourth line, providing leadership and secondary scoring in limited minutes played.
Spezza also represented Canada in international play eight times in his career (four World Championships, three World Juniors and one Spengler Cup) winning a total of six medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) and one Spengler Cup.
Spezza will finish his career with 1248 career NHL games and 995 career points. What is particularly impressive to me was how he was able to reinvent himself as a valuable fourth line player in the latter part of his career. He now moves on to a new position as a special assistant to Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas.
| POLL | ||
MAI 29 | 242 ANSWERS A look back at an impressive NHL career for Jason Spezza What future role would Jason Spezza be best suited for? | ||
| Head Coach | 51 | 21.1 % |
| General Manager | 54 | 22.3 % |
| Head Scout | 28 | 11.6 % |
| Head of Player Development | 109 | 45 % |
| List of polls | ||
