Kyle Dubas reveals why Jason Spezza waited until Sunday to announce his retirement
The last 24 hours for Leafs Nation has been dominated by Jason Spezza, and for good reason. The 19-year NHL veteran announced his retirement from pro hockey and his imminent transition into a new front office role with the Leafs on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas spoke with the media about Spezza at length, and while it was exactly what you might have expected, one detail from the media session really stood out above all the others.
Dubas opened his media availability by stating that the decision had already been made that Spezza would retire and become a Special Assistant to Dubas next season, but that the announcement wasn't made because Spezza didn't feel it would be right to announce something that would have been headline hockey news on a day where playoff hockey was being played.
Can you believe that? Spezza's playing career was ending, and as emotional as he must have been about the decision, he thought of others first and didn't want to distract anyone from playoff hockey. What a guy...
