Toronto Maple Leafs take worthwhile gamble with Jason Spezza on one-year deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs addressed their need for a fourth-line centre, signing veteran Jason Spezza to a one-year contract.

Ahead of the opening of free agency, it was mentioned that Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas would be doing some bargain shopping to address his centre depth. He didn’t wait long to get his first piece of free agent business out of the way.

The Maple Leafs signed veteran centre Jason Spezza to a one-year contract, the team announced Monday.

More from Tip of the Tower

• Cam Phillips making his mark on Toronto Argonauts offence
• Toronto Argonauts: 4 storylines ahead of matchup against Redblacks
• Federico Bernardeschi ready for new challenge with Toronto FC
• Toronto Argonauts overcome Roughriders in entertaining Touchdown Atlantic
• Buffalo Bills: Von Miller drawing inspiration from Bruce Smith

Spezza will make a league minimum $700,000 this season.

Toronto and its fans will know the 36-year-old well, as he spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the rival Ottawa Senators.

The Sens selected Spezza second overall in the 2001 NHL Draft, and he became one of their top players in short order. During his time in the nation’s capital, he had 251 goals and 687 points in 686 games. He also served as the captain of the team during the 2013-14 campaign, but that would be his final year in Ottawa.

Spezza would be involved in a trade that landed him in Dallas in exchange for Alex Chiasson, Nick Paul, Alex Guptill, and a 2015 second-round pick.

He posted 60-plus points in his first three campaigns with the Stars, but his production began to tail off over the last few seasons. He put up eight goals and 27 points this past season while averaging 13:16 of ice time a night.

Spezza certainly isn’t the player that he used to be, but he can still be very useful in a fourth line role, providing some punch in limited minutes. He could also be used on one of the power-play units under new assistant coach Paul McFarland. Of the 27 points he had in 2018-19, 12 of them came on the man advantage.

The fourth line centre was definitely left something to be desired last year, as Frederik Gauthier had just 14 points and a team-worst 46 percent Corsi this past season.

Spezza should be able to drive possession while being a veteran leader in a room still filled with young talent.

The Mississauga, Ont., native admitted that he was a Leafs fan growing up. As new teammate John Tavares said a year ago, it’s not every day that you get to live a childhood dream. Spezza will get the chance to toss on his favourite team’s uniform in just a few months.

What do you think of the move? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!