Kyle Dubas and Jason Spezza spotted scouting OHL/QMJHL game at Memorial Cup playoffs
The NHL's offseason is almost fully under way and could begin as early as Friday if the Avs manage to close out the Bolts in Game 5 on home ice at Ball Arena in Denver, but for many teams, such as the Leafs, it's already well under way.
At the end of the Leafs' season, the Buds took some time to reflect before announcing their first wave of changes, which included a couple of tweaks to the front office, the decision to not renew the contract of goalie coach Steve Briere and the retirement of Jason Spezza, who also happened to be appointed as a Special Assistant to GM Kyle Dubas.
Dubas had announced shortly after the move that Spezza's roles and responsibilities will vary, but did mention that Spezza would be involved in the upcoming draft and other facets of the business to learn the ropes behind the scenes before making a final determination in what his new position will entail.
Well, Spezza and Dubas have wasted no time getting down to business, as the pair were spotted on Thursday, scouting the Memorial Cup matchup between the Shawinigan Cataractes and Hamilton Bulldogs in Saint John, NB. Shawinigan skated away with a 3-2 victory in the contest. Some have speculated that the Leafs were there to scout undrafted over-age center Logan Morrison, who put up 100 points in 60 games for the Bulldogs, but I'm sure there were a number of other young players they were watching ahead of the draft and free agency.
This is not the first time Dubas and Spezza were spotted scouting the Bulldogs, as the pair also scouted Hamilton during the OHL playoffs as well.
We are officially less than two weeks out from night one of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and it's nice to see Spezza getting the early crash course in preparation his first ever draft at the table with the rest of the Leafs' front office. While it's unclear at this point what his role will be in the scouting process and at the draft, I think we can all agree that it's just wonderful to know that Spezza will remain in the Leafs family even after his playing career.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 24 | 164 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas and Jason Spezza spotted scouting OHL/QMJHL game at Memorial Cup playoffs Will the Leafs complete some trades to acquire more picks for the upcoming draft? | ||
| Yes | 99 | 60.4 % |
| No | 65 | 39.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
