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Jason Spezza officially closed out a successful NHL career on the ice Sunday.
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You just know, he’ll be the right fit in the next chapter off the ice.
The former Ottawa Senators’ captain hung up his skates after three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and moved into a role as a special assistant to the general manager.
While Spezza asked to be traded by the Senators at the end of the 2013-14 campaign, there were never any hard feelings between him and the organization. He’ll always hold a special place in the hearts of Ottawa fans because he’s one of the best players to pull on a Senators jersey.
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Someday you have to think he’ll have a special place in the Canadian Tire Center beside late general manager Bryan Murray in the club’s Ring of Honour. The decision to retire wasn’t easy for Spezza but the time had come to step away from the playing part of his career.
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“I still don’t know that I’ve come to grips with it,” Spezza told reporters Sunday.
Traded to the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2014 in exchange for forward Alex Chiasson along with prospects Alex Guptill and Nick Paul and a second-round pick by Ottawa, Spezza wanted a change of scenery.
He had taken over the reins as captain from legendary forward Daniel Alfredsson for one season and was the subject of heavy criticism because of the club’s inconsistency. Though he had a good relationship with the fans, the people here always seemed to want more.
It’s also believed that then-Senators coach Paul MacLean had made it difficult for Spezza to succeed in his new role with the ‘C’. There was talk amongst some of the players that anything Spezza tried to achieve in the dressing room was immediately shot down by MacLean.
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In 686 games with the Senators, Spezza finished with 251 goals, 436 assists and 687 points. He was the club’s top pick in the 2001 NHL draft. The club used a pick had received from a deal that sent Alexei Yashin to the New York Islanders to make the selection.
Anyone who talked to Spezza in the Ottawa dressing room knew that the front office was the natural next step in his career. When you talk about people who love the game, you need to look no further than Spezza because he truly does.
Having covered this team since Day 1 of the 1992-93 campaign, I spent a lot of time sitting at Spezza’s locker stall on a Saturday just talking hockey and exchanging gossip while preparing to sit down in the afternoon to write a weekly NHL notes morning column .
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Not only does Spezza know what’s happening, he also has a good eye for players. He’s the kind of guy that likely doesn’t miss a minute of the playoffs and he knows what it takes to have success. I’ve mentioned several times in the past 15 years that I’ve always felt he’ll be an NHL GM someday.
“I’d like to think all the time I’ve spent in the game, watching and learning, will serve me well now,” Spezza said. “I’d always hoped for an opportunity to stay in hockey. The most important things in my life are family and hockey. I don’t see that changing.
“I’m just going to kind of grow with the role. You think you know things but you really don’t until you get behind the curtain. I feel like I’m stepping into a situation with great people to learn under. I’m going to be a good student. I’m fortunate I can jump right into it.”
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Of course, the closest Spezza ever came to winning a title was with the Senators during the 2006-07 campaign. The club went to the Stanley Cup final against the Anaheim Ducks before losing the series in five games. That one still stings and hanging up his skates without a ring wasn’t easy.
It shouldn’t, and won’t, take away from his legacy. He went home to try to help the Leafs win a Cup and the club ran up against the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and dropped the series in Game 7.
“I don’t think I can ever put into words how much it means to me to try to win the Stanley Cup. There’s definitely a huge void in my heart and my career without being able to win it,” said Spezza. “I’ve had many sleepless nights over the course of my career, wondering what I need to do differently and how I need to change to win a Stanley Cup. And to not be able to win a Stanley Cup as a player is very difficult . It’s my life’s work, hockey. And to not be able to be a champion in it is hard.
“But I think that will help me drive towards wanting to stay in the game, too. I think it’ll never feel maybe the same as being a player. But I’m going to try to win a Stanley Cup as an executive and as part of the organization now. And that will keep me driven.”
Spezza’s hockey career is hardly over, he’ll just be trying something new on for size.
