Spezza retires after 19 seasons in NHL, joins Maple Leafs front office

Jason Spezza announced his retirement from the NHL on Sunday, ending a 19-season playing career.

The forward, who will turn 39 on June 13, is joining the Toronto Maple Leafs front office after playing the past three seasons for them. He said that though he fell short of his goal of winning the Stanley Cup, that will continue to drive him.
"I don't think I can ever put into words how much it means to me to try to win the Stanley Cup," Spezza said. "There is definitely a huge void in my heart and career without having been able to win it. To not win as a player, it's very difficult. It's my life's work, hockey, and to not be a champion in it is hard, but I think that will help me drive towards wanting to stay in the game. It will 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."
Spezza will be a special assistant to general manager Kyle Dubas effective immediately.
"I'm deeply invested in what we've done here the last three years," Spezza said. "I believe in the group and I think this is a way I can continue to contribute and hopefully help the team get over the top.
"I'm just going to 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 that I don't know a whole lot about with great people like Kyle and (president) Brendan [Shanahan] to learn under. I'm just going to be a good student, learn, observe."
The announcement purposely came Sunday with no Stanley Cup Playoff games scheduled; Dubas said Spezza did not want to draw attention away from the playoffs.
The GM said that Spezza would learn in a variety of areas, including player development, scouting, and NHL salary cap management, and that next offseason his role will be refined toward a more specific area.
"Because of his passion for hockey, his intelligence, the way he views the game and his ability to impart that knowledge on to others that we definitely would want to have him as part of our front office," Dubas said. "There was an onus on us for everything he's done for our organization to ensure we had a plan and path for him when his days as a player came to an end."
Selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2001 NHL Draft by the Senators, Spezza had 995 points (363 goals, 632 assists) in 1,248 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs, Stars and Senators. He had 76 points (28 goals, 48 assists) in 97 playoff games.
He is second in Senators history in goals (251), assists (436) and points (687), behind Daniel Alfredsson (426 goals, 682 assists, 1,108 points) in each category.
Spezza had 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 71 regular-season games and one assist in five playoff games this season but was a healthy scratch at times late in the regular season and for the first two games of the playoffs. Toronto was eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round.
"I wanted to leave the team in a good spot," Spezza said. "You don't want to overstay your welcome as a player either. I think there's a lot of respect people have for me and you don't want to use that and take advantage of the situation. I determined for the team it's probably best for the team to move forward without me as a player.
"The days I was out of the lineup were harder than anybody could possibly imagine, probably harder than they should have been. That shows how much I love the game and how much I cared and wanted to contribute. So if I envisioned a scenario where I wasn't contributing every night or being a part of the team nightly, I don't feel I could have the impact with my teammates and carry myself authentically."
Spezza said that once he decided he was done playing, the hardest conversation he had was with his parents, who live in Mississauga, Ontario, outside of Toronto.
"[My dad] and my mom still came to every game," Spezza said. "They drove around to the rinks in junior. It's their life too, so it's not just over for me, it's over for them, so that's hard. I know how much joy they get out of tuning in to the games, and watching."
Dubas said watching the way Spezza interacted with every member of the Maple Leafs organization the forward came across made an immeasurable impact.
"The level of care and passion he has not only for the game of hockey," Dubas said, "but in genuinely helping every staff member, every player, anybody who really needed any help whatsoever at all hours of the day, every moment he was a member of the Maple Leafs as a player was quite remarkable to see, and it was a truly an honor to have him as a member of our team."