Quote by Dubas leads us to believe that Jason Spezza is expected to be heavily involved in Leafs' deadline decisions
With just 3 weeks to go until the NHL's March 3rd trade deadline, I think there are a lot of fans within Leafs Nation who are shocked that Kyle Dubas has yet to pull off a move. In years past, we have seen Dubas get out ahead of the deadline and complete trades weeks before to allow his new acquisitions some additional time to become accustomed to the new systems and his new teammates. This year, however, it looks as though he has committed to waiting a little longer to see how things unfold in the market and keep his name in the hat for any players who may not be dealt until closer to the deadline rather than just taking what he can get now.
One thing that Dubas has this year that he didn't have in years prior is a special assistant who actually played the game at a very high level for a very long time in Jason Spezza. After retiring from playing professionally just this past summer, Spezza took on a role in the team's front office and has spent most of the season learning the ropes behind the scenes, scouting and providing any helpful information that he can to Dubas and company.
Spezza's input is really going to help at the deadline. After all, who better to dish the details on rival players than someone who has played against them as recently as last season? This much was pointed out in an article written by The Athletic's Jonas Siegel, who believes that nobody would be in a better position to speak to the strength down low and effectiveness of a guy like Vladislav Gavrikov or how much Ryan O'Reilly has left in the tank than Spezza. He has a point, quite honestly. Dubas himself basically admitted that the weight of Spezza's words will matter come deadline time.
"He just played against them, so I can have my thoughts from watching upstairs, but he's played against these guys for a long time... he knows what they're like as competitors, he knows what they're like as people. You have your view when you sit upstairs and watch, or when you watch on video, but [Spezza] is out there in the actual battle."
-Dubas on how much he'll lean on Spezza for information on potential trade targets
-Dubas on how much he'll lean on Spezza for information on potential trade targets
We know that Spezza has really taken his new gig seriously this season. We've seen him scouting countless games and we've seen him vigorously taking notes while other executives watch with a much more casual approach. Not only was Spezza a student of the game for his entire career, but now it appears as though he's a student of the game on the other side of things. He's proven to be an invaluable piece for the Leafs in a number of ways on the ice and now he's doing the same off the ice as well. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Leafs will do at the deadline with Spezza's input.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 9 | 152 ANSWERS Quote by Dubas leads us to believe that Jason Spezza is expected to be heavily involved in Leafs' deadline decisions How important is Jason Spezza's input on roster decisions ahead of the deadline? | ||
| Very important | 111 | 73 % |
| Moderately important | 36 | 23.7 % |
| Not very important | 5 | 3.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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