Could Jason Spezza be groomed for a GM job in the future?
It's not uncommon to see former NHLers take over NHL teams as general managers after their playing career ends. Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman, Ron Hextall, Ron Francis and several other current NHL GMs have done so after successful NHL careers. With his new job title as Special Assistant to the General Manager, Jason Spezza could be the next NHL star to transition into a management role.
It's been reported that Spezza will already be involved with free agent negotiations as well as the NHL draft. I have a feeling that, like Dwight Schrute, Spezza will look to shed the "to" out of his job title soon and become an Assistant GM. Spezza is smart, likeable and well respected around the league as a veteran of over 1000 NHL games. This could go a long way during negotiations with both players and rival GMs. The fact that he is so fresh out of his playing career would also be helpful, as he understands the game as it's played today and how it has changed over the last 2 decades.
Now, I'm not saying he's being groomed to take over for Dubas, or that I want Dubas out for Spezza. The fact is that at this point, Spezza obviously isn't ready and Dubas doesn't deserve to lose his job. However, down the road, if the Leafs were to move on from Dubas and possibly Brendan Shanahan, Spezza could find himself on the short list for the big job. It's worked well for Colorado, it worked great for Tampa, and now that Yzerman is in Detroit, things are turning around there too. It would not surprise me to see the Leafs' ownership group consider doing something similar in the future.
| POLL | ||
MAI 30 | 55 ANSWERS Could Jason Spezza be groomed for a GM job in the future? If the Leafs move on from Dubas in the future, who should take over? | ||
| Jason Spezza | 28 | 50.9 % |
| Brandon Pridham | 8 | 14.5 % |
| A different former Leaf | 4 | 7.3 % |
| Someone outside of the organization | 15 | 27.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
