TORONTO – Nineteen wins for No. 19.
It’s between Jason Spezza and an elusive Stanley Cup.
Of course, you don’t dive as deeply into your career as the Toronto Maple Leafs without knowing how important it is to stay in the moment. Especially in the playoffs.
“Step by step,” said Spezza recently on a zoom call with reporters when the subject of a possible storybook conclusion of this strange season was raised.
Spezza is a convincing figure at the start of a qualifying round with Columbus. It was this special opportunity that prompted the 37-year-old to receive a discount for his hometown signature when he signed his hometown team, and the unprecedented circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced him ever since , Ms. Jennifer and her four daughters at home when moving to the NHL bubble a short drive away.
From the Stanley Cup qualifiers to the Stanley Cup final, you can broadcast every game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 2020 live on Sportsnet NOW.
Throughout the hockey pause, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said, Spezza has “stepped up”, taken an active role in the return-to-play discussions with the NHL Players’ Association, and has become an even more trustworthy voice among teammates.
“He is an experienced player in the league and has experienced many different things. And he’s a guy who has a passion for the game and he’s also a passion for the game his Game and his Career and another shot to fight for the cup, ”said Keefe.
Spezza has had a fulfilling hockey life: as the much-vaunted prospect who once made his playoff debut in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, as number 1 on a team that was unsuccessful in the Stanley Cup final – veteran veteran who despite a limited role and many other things in between, still finds a way to contribute to a post-season run.
That is why the Leafs measure its impact not only on goals and templates. It should come as no surprise, for example, that Spezza has set itself the goal of speaking to 18-year-old Nick Robertson at least once a day during the summer training camp, or that he has stayed well out after a recent Robertson passport training session additional work on his one timer.
“He’s one of the most caring guys you’ll meet,” said Ben Bishop, Spezza’s former teammate in Dallas, earlier this season. “If there is a newcomer who comes from a minor, Spezz is the first to sit next to him and talk about hockey.”
There are two things that Spezza brings to the ice rink with a smile on their face every day, no matter what personal circumstances he is dealing with:
1. A childlike love for the game
2. A burning desire to raise the Stanley Cup
And not necessarily in that order.
Regarding the trophy, it can serve as a warning story for 22-year-old Auston Matthews, 23-year-old Mitch Marner and 24-year-old William Nylander. Spezza played in game 7 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Final before his 20th birthday and was Marner’s age when he helped the Ottawa senators reach the cup final four years later.
The senators were a team with him, Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley each in their prime numbers. And yet they never managed to be the last team.
“He is really just a great voice in our team due to his experience and not all positive experiences,” said Keefe.
“I played in great teams early on and you think they will last forever and then you will see things change,” said Spezza in September. “We had these three years there [in Ottawa]We knocked on the door and probably should have won. We were a steady powerhouse for a couple of years and didn’t make it. You don’t want this to happen again. “
You know what he could do now: In the weeks before he even played his first game with the Leafs, Spezza was already talking about the role that a fourth line can play in the playoffs. He had scored a few big goals during the Dallas second-round run in 2019, noting that Boston and St. Louis – the youngest cup finalists – each found strength in the bottom of their squad.
“I think when you get to the end you need it,” he said.
In these most unusual circumstances, Spezza will try to tip the scales in favor of Toronto. As a steady hand, soundboard and dressing room dad. As a deep striker who will give everything he has for every precious shift that Keefe gives him.
More than 17 years after his NHL career, Spezza is all-in on this restart. He’ll get on with regular FaceTime calls to daughters Sophia, Nicola, Anna, and Julia, and adjust a pre-game routine that can’t include a city walk to have a coffee.
And he will enjoy a decade-long opportunity.
“Of course it would be special to be in Toronto to win because we are supported by the city and myself who grew up here,” said Spezza. “I’m definitely chasing a dream.
“Trying to win a Stanley Cup as a maple leaf is something I dreamed of as a child.”
