Spezza re-signs with the Leafs

[herman]

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1313116838482587649

 

[Zee]

Cool!  Italian power!!!

 

[Deebo]

700k

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/IneffectiveMath/status/1313117235192397826
https://twitter.com/JFreshHockey/status/1313119625660583941
https://twitter.com/HockeyStatsCZ/status/1313119840094257152

There are maybe 3 players on this team I wouldn't be mad about taking an uncontested shot after coming into the zone down the wing, and Spezza is probably the best at it.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Mikheyev-Tavares-Marner
Robertson-Thornton-Simmonds
Barabanov-Spezza-Perry

It might not be good, but it'd be fun.

1/4 of the way there.

 

[L K]

Good deal.  Good signing.  Good veteran.  Can't complain in any way about this.  Hopefully we can find one or two more steals like this.

 

[Frank E]

700k

Keefe is really going to get it from the media when he scratches Spezza for the season opener.

 

[louisstamos]

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Haha seriously. Imagine telling Leafs fans 10 years ago that signing Jason Spezza would receive unanimous support from the entire fanbase.

 

[bustaheims]

Cool. Cool cool cool.

 

[Deebo]

Haha seriously. Imagine telling Leafs fans 10 years ago that signing Jason Spezza would receive unanimous support from the entire fanbase.

Imagine telling leaf fans 10 years ago that they still won't have won a playoff round since 2004.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Haha seriously. Imagine telling Leafs fans 10 years ago that signing Jason Spezza would receive unanimous support from the entire fanbase.

Imagine telling leaf fans 10 years ago that they still won't have won a playoff round since 2004.

I mean that would have seemed slightly believable.

 

[herman]

There are maybe 3 players on this team I wouldn't be mad about taking an uncontested shot after coming into the zone down the wing, and Spezza is probably the best at it.

https://twitter.com/mostlyleafies/status/1313123772950511618
Can we retain him as a coach after he retires? I think we have to.

 

[herman]

Taylor Hall, would you like to play left wing for either Auston Matthews, John Tavares, or Jason Spezza for the next season? 700k because escrow sucks? OK?

 

[Frank E]

Haha seriously. Imagine telling Leafs fans 10 years ago that signing Jason Spezza would receive unanimous support from the entire fanbase.

Imagine telling leaf fans 10 years ago that they still won't have won a playoff round since 2004.

They're totally on the right track though.

They're only a Lundqvist and Gudas or something away from the promise land.

That, and a lot of luck.  The plan is working.

 

[herman]

That, and a lot of luck.  The plan is working.

That's basically every team that wins the Cup. Tampa was probably the most inexorably dominant team in the last little while and it still took them over half a decade to get it done.

Fun thing:
Leafs: core is young, but under team control, albeit expensive in some cases. On the rise, despite some disappointing results and fan despair over narrative (our own EBUG!).
Tampa: cap hell, but the core is still intact, albeit aging. Can only trend downward.
Boston: old AF, other than McAvoy and Pastrnak; great structure though. Trending down.

 

[Redleaf]

That, and a lot of luck.  The plan is working.

That's basically every team that wins the Cup. Tampa was probably the most inexorably dominant team in the last little while and it still took them over half a decade to get it done.

Fun thing:
Leafs: core is young, but under team control, albeit expensive in some cases. On the rise, despite some disappointing results and fan despair over narrative (our own EBUG!).
Tampa: cap hell, but the core is still intact, albeit aging. Can only trend downward.
Boston: old AF, other than McAvoy and Pastrnak; great structure though. Trending down.

Yeah. It certainly feels like its rapidly becoming the Leafs time to bask in the spotlight. Whether or not that translates to the ultimate prize is still uncertain, but the window is open now.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/JFreshHockey/status/1313119625660583941

Kind of a random aside, but Spezza probably played just as much on the 3rd line as the 4th line this season. And when he was on the 4th line he primarily played wing with Gauthier at centre (with the caveat that positions are fluid in the ice of course). I think he very rarely actually lined up as 4C.

 

[herman]

Kind of a random aside, but Spezza probably played just as much on the 3rd line as the 4th line this season. And when he was on the 4th line he primarily played wing with Gauthier at centre (with the caveat that positions are fluid in the ice of course). I think he very rarely actually lined up as 4C.

C'est vrai. Leafs tend to play centre-pseudocentre pairs anyway. Still nice to see his defensive impacts in low-leverage situations still tilted our way, via puck control.

The Leafs probably still want more bottom-six players that can soak up the occasional hard minutes against other top-6 in boring mode.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/rahef_issa/status/1313133984189231105
Peepers on some of the names we no longer have on our cap sheet