Spezza announced his retirement Sunday after playing 19 seasons with Ottawa, Dallas, and Toronto.
Spezza finishes a storied NHL tenure with 363 goals and 632 assists in 1,248 games. The five-time All-Star played the past three seasons with the Maple Leafs after spending four years with the Stars and the previous 11 with the Senators. Spezza, a Toronto native, will remain with the Leafs in a front-office role.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Likely slotting in for Game 3
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Spezza skated on the fourth line at practice Friday and could be entering the lineup in place of Wayne Simmonds for Game 3, reports Mark Masters of TSN.
Spezza spent a load of time at practice Thursday on his own, practicing one-timers from the right circle. The Leafs could use a boost on their power play and a quieter, more strategic approach to the fourth line -- Simmonds got caught in too many scrums in Game 2.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Recent healthy scratches
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Spezza has been a healthy scratch four times in the Leafs' last seven games.
The grizzled veteran is a strong leader, but a nominal contributor for fantasy. Spezza has 10 goals and 11 assists in 64 games this season, and is nine points from the vaunted 1,000-point mark in his career. He will not achieve that height this season and will be a free agent this summer. Spezza's career is winding down and he is working year-to-year on league-minimum deals, so it remains to be seen what 2022-23 will bring.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Collects helper Monday
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Spezza notched an assist in Monday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jackets.
Spezza set up Alex Kerfoot for a goal at 4:19 of the third period, restoring the Maple Leafs' lead after a push from the Blue Jackets. The helper snapped Spezza's five-game point drought. The 38-year-old forward has 20 points, 69 shots on net, a minus-2 rating and 20 PIM through 52 contests overall.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Slides assist in loss
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Spezza recorded an assist and two PIM in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Canadiens.
Spezza set up Pierre Engvall's third-period marker. It's been seven games since Spezza scored a goal, but he has three assists in that span. The 38-year-old forward is up to 18 points, 63 shots on net, 18 PIM and a minus-3 rating through 45 contests, mainly playing in a fourth-line role.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Pockets helper
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Spezza contributed a power-play assist in Monday's 6-2 win over the Kraken.
Spezza had the secondary assist on an Ondrej Kase tally in the first period. The 38-year-old Spezza has logged two goals and three assists in his last seven outings despite a limited role on the fourth line. The veteran center is up to 17 points (nine on the power play), 58 shots on net and a minus-2 rating through 42 contests. His ice time is not guaranteed to be above 10 minutes each game, but he's made an impact that could help fantasy managers in deep formats.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Contributes assist
Rotowire
Spezza added an assist in a 3-2 loss to the Canucks on Saturday.
Spezza helped out on Ondrej Kase's second period power-play strike, knotting the score at 2-2. The veteran center has four points over his last six contests, with the fact that this stretch is one of his best of the season further demonstrating his decline from a peak of 50-plus point production.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Finds twine Monday
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Spezza scored a goal and added two PIM in Monday's 6-4 win over the Devils.
Spezza's tally at 4:16 of the third period cut the Maple Leafs' deficit to one goal, and they went on to rally for the win. The 38-year-old has a goal and an assist in his last two games after going eight contests without a point. For the season, the veteran forward has 14 points, 53 shots on net and a minus-4 rating in 37 outings while playing mostly in a bottom-six role.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Ends drought with helper
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Spezza notched an assist in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Red Wings.
Spezza hadn't gotten on the scoresheet since Jan. 1, a span of eight scoreless outings. He's obviously struggled a bit since returning to a fourth-line role after his foray onto the top line in early December. The 38-year-old is at 13 points (seven on the power play) with 52 shots on net and a minus-3 rating in 36 contests this season. Without much momentum recently, he's likely best left off fantasy rosters.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Chips in with assist
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Spezza notched an assist and three shots on goal in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Senators.
This was Spezza's first game since Dec. 5 against the Jets. He served a four-game suspension (reduced from six), but the Maple Leafs' schedule was paused just after he was reinstated. The 38-year-old veteran is up to seven goals, five assists, 46 shots on net and a plus-1 rating in 27 outings. He's not expected to play above a bottom-six role, but he's earned six of his 12 points on the power play -- that gives him some appeal in deeper fantasy formats.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Returns to practice
Rotowire
Spezza cleared COVID-19 protocol and practiced Monday, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.
Spezza figures to be in the lineup for Toronto's next game, whenever that might be. The 38-year-old has 11 points in 26 contests this season.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Enters virus protocols
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Spezza entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocols on Friday.
Spezza just had his suspension shortened to four games, which made him eligible to play Saturday against the Canucks, but he'll miss that game after landing in the protocols.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: League shortens suspension
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The NHL has shortened Spezza's suspension from six games to four.
The 38-year-old will now be eligible to play Saturday in Vancouver. Explaining the decision, commissioner Gary Bettman cited Spezza's long history of clean play prior to the Dec. 5 incident, when he kneed Winnipeg's Neal Pionk. The forward has seven goals and four assists this season.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Officially appealing suspension
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Spezza and the NHLPA have appealed the 38-year-old's six-game suspension.
Spezza's appeal will first be heard by commissioner Gary Bettman, and if that fails, a neutral arbitrator. Historically, these appeals processes have taken some time -- recall the Tom Wilson 20-game suspension that was reduced to 14 on appeal despite the winger missing 16 games. As such, fantasy managers waiting for Spezza will likely still be without him until Dec. 19 versus the Kraken.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Issued six-game ban
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Spezza was suspended six games Tuesday for kneeing the Jets' Neal Pionk on Sunday.
It's a surprisingly long ban for the 38-year-old, who is a first-time offender. He was not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Blue Jackets, which counts as the first game of the suspension. Spezza will be eligible to return Dec. 19 against the Kraken.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Not in lineup Tuesday
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Spezza (not injury related) is not in Tuesday's lineup versus the Blue Jackets, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.
Spezza was offered an in-person hearing after kneeing the Jets' Neal Pionk in Sunday's game. While the Department of Player Safety has yet to hand down a ruling on supplemental discipline, Spezza's absence from the lineup suggests a suspension is on the horizon.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Scheduled for in-person hearing
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Spezza will have an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety for kneeing the Jets' Neal Pionk, the league announced Monday.
The fact that Spezza was offered an in-person hearing means he could be suspended for more than five games following Sunday's incident. Over the course of his 19-year NHL career, Spezza has never been suspended, so this will certainly be an unfamiliar situation for the veteran center.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Big three-point effort
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Spezza scored twice and added an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Wild.
With Mitch Marner out, Spezza moved onto the top PP and notched a goal and assist there. He continues to play well, even at 38, and is rolling with three goals and an assist in his last two games. Spezza is worth a spot start next game if Marner continues to be sidelined.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Tickles twine on power play
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Spezza scored a power-play goal on two shots in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Kings.
Spezza struck at 15:36 of the second period, finishing off a four-goal frame for the Maple Leafs. The 38-year-old continues to make noise as a power-play specialist -- he's picked up four of his seven points this year with the man advantage. Spezza has added 33 shots on net, 10 PIM and a minus-1 rating in 21 contests. He'll continue to play limited minutes at even strength, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect steady offense from him.
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Maple Leafs' Jason Spezza: Provides lone goal in blowout loss
Rotowire
Spezza scored a goal on two shots and had two PIM in Saturday's 7-1 loss to the Penguins.
Spezza put away a loose puck during a scramble in front to tie the game at 1-1 with 7:16 left in the first period. That was the extent of Toronto's offense for the rest of the night, with Pittsburgh responding with six unanswered goals. Spezza has found the back of the net in two straight games and boasts three goals and four points in six contests overall.
