Spezza wants to return to Maple Leafs, can become free agent

Jason Spezza said he has no plans to retire and wants to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs next season.

The forward, who will turn 37 on June 13, signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with his hometown team July 1, 2019. He can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season, which was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

"I definitely feel like I have game left and there is nowhere I'd rather be than play another year here in Toronto," Spezza said. "I do hope it works out.

"At this point, it's not the focus (because of the pandemic), but I would love to be back. I feel we're building things with this club and I want to be part of it."

Spezza has 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 58 games this season, seeing regular time on Toronto's second power-play unit, and he won 54.0 percent of his face-offs.

Those statistics show Spezza is still effective in certain roles, but he said he wasn't sure what his roles were at the beginning of the season.

Under coach Mike Babcock, Spezza was a healthy scratch for 10 of Toronto's first 23 games and admitted he was confused at how he was -- or wasn't -- being used.

"It obviously wasn't the start I envisioned … (but) I didn't really want to feel sorry for myself," Spezza said. "I was just trying to just stay in the fight and give myself an opportunity to play well when I did get in."

That opportunity came Nov. 20, when Babcock was fired as Maple Leafs coach and replaced by Sheldon Keefe.

With Keefe showing renewed confidence in him, Spezza played in all but two of Toronto's next 47 games prior to the pause, and he scored six of his seven power-play points after the coaching change.

"We went through the start of the season where I was in and out of the lineup and just trying to establish myself to find a certain (role) with the team," Spezza said. "I think as the year progressed, my role became more defined, and then I was able to focus on just playing and being a more positive influence on the games every night, and less so about being in and out of the lineup. I think that helped me know what my role was, and what was expected of me.

"As the year progressed, I got more and more comfortable with the system. Different nights I would move around in the lineup. It was fun and it was a great challenge."

One player who would welcome Spezza's return is forward Zach Hyman, who sits beside him in the Maple Leafs locker room and said his influence goes much deeper than his NHL career statistics (940 points in 1,123 games).

"I picked his brain a bunch," Hyman said last week. "You can ask him any question about hockey and he will have an answer for it.

"He has been through a lot this year and he had a calm and steady demeanor through it and was a great presence for our younger guys. It would be awesome to have him back."

Although Spezza wants to return for another season, he is still hopeful he'll get to resume this one with Toronto (36-25-9), which is in third place in the Atlantic Division.

He said he was impressed with the growth in accountability many of the younger players on the Maple Leafs developed in what he described as an inconsistent season.

"We have a much more mature locker room than we did at the beginning of the season," Spezza said. "There's a lot more ownership."

Spezza also mentioned 22-year-old forwards Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews helping revitalize him at this stage in his career.

"With [Marner] it's the enthusiasm, the excitement, the energy he brings every day. He's got an infectious personality," Spezza said. "The guys love being around him. Kind of like the Energizer bunny, going around the rink and yapping at guys. … As for [Matthews], I've really taken to him. He loves the game. He works really hard at it. People don't realize how dedicated he is. … I can relate to him because I was like that as a young guy.

"There's no limits to how good you can be with a team when you have high-end guys like that."