Jason Spezza
Jason Spezza was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on June 13th, 1983 and is the Hockey Player. At the age of 41, Jason Spezza biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 41 years old, Jason Spezza has this physical status:
Jason Rocco Anthony Spezza (born June 13, 1983) is a professional ice hockey centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).
He has also played for the Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars in the NHL. Spezza was named second overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators, later serving as their team captain after Daniel Alfredsson's departure in the earliest stages of his major junior career (OHL).
In 2004–05, he was playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) due to the NHL lockout, winning the Les Cunningham Award as the league MVP with the Binghamton Senators.
Spezza set a record of 71 assists for the first time in his Ottawa Senators career in 2005-06, while also scoring a 90-point high for the first time in his NHL career. Spezza has represented Canada at three World Junior Championships and two World Championships.
He made his World Junior debut in 2000, becoming only the third 16-year-old to make the team, behind Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros.
Early life
Spezza was born in Mississauga, Ontario, on June 13, 1983. Rino and Donna Spezza, along with twin siblings Michelle and Matthew, an ice hockey goaltender who most recently competed for the International Hockey League in the Flint Generals. As a youth in the Toronto area, he followed the Toronto Maple Leafs but has cited Mario Lemieux as his favorite player as a youth. Spezza attended St. Michael's College School.
Spezza won a baby competition and began his youth modelling career at age one. Spezza was named the poster boy for Baby, a Broadway musical that appeared at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto in 1984. Spezza was selected for a Minute Maid commercial at age five. He designed clothing for Woolco and Kmart stores two years ago.
Playing career
Spezza was a member of the Toronto Marlboros in 1997, scoring 114 points in 54 games. Spezza started his junior career with the Brampton Battalion in 1998-1999, under a law that allowed the then-underage player to play on his hometown team. He scored at a faster rate per game as an underage player with 71 points in 67 games. He then became the youngest player to play in an OHL All-Star game at age 15. He was required to enter the OHL Priority Draft after one season with the Battalion and was selected by the Mississauga IceDogs in the team's second season in 1999–2000. He played 61 points in 52 games during the season before requesting a trade and then being dealt 15 games into the Windsor Spitfires' 2000-01 season. Spezza scored 116 points in 66 games this season, leading to a career-high 116 points.
Spezza was drafted second overall by the Ottawa Senators after the Atlanta Thrashers selected Ilya Kovalchuk. The second overall pick originally belonged to the New York Islanders, but it was exchanged to Ottawa (along with Zdeno Chára and Bill Muckalt) in exchange for Alexei Yashin on the day of the Draft. Spezza refused to attend the Canadian junior team's summer camp because he said he wanted to prepare for his first NHL camp during the summer of 2001.
Spezza started his professional career in the American Hockey League after one more OHL season split between the Spitfires and the Belleville Bulls, resulting in a 105-point season. On September 5, 2001, he signed his first professional deal with the Senators, a multi-year contract.
Following Spezza's fourth OHL season, he was drafted by the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2002 Calder Cup playoffs, where he made his professional debut, appearing in three playoff games and scoring one goal. In a 2–1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on October 29, 2002, he made his NHL debut in 2002–03 with Ottawa, playing in 33 games and recording 21 points, and scoring his first NHL goal. However, he spent the majority of the season with Ottawa's new affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, and was called up regularly to replace injured Ottawa players. During his rookie season with Ottawa, he appeared in three Stanley Cup playoff games, assisting the team in its 2003 playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Spezza scored on the game-winning goal in Game 3 on his first appearance in playoffs on May 21, 2003. The Senators were just one game away from being eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.
Spezza played his first full NHL season with the Senators in 2003–04, scoring 22 goals and 55 points in 78 games. Spezza returned to the AHL in 2004-05, but due to the subsequent NHL lockout. Scoring 117 points with Binghamton, he defeated Michael Cammalleri of the Manchester Monarchs by eight points to win the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league's top scorer. Spezza was also named league MVP for the Les Cunningham Award.
Spezza returned to Ottawa in 2005-06, just as NHL play resumed. The Senators launched Spezza on the first line between Dany Heatley and rookie Brandon Bochenski, who was Spezza's linemate in Binghamton, after trading centers Radek Bonk and Todd White during the off-season. Captain Daniel Alfredsson quickly replaced Bochenski on the top line (Bochenski was fired shortly after) and the new trio was dubbed the "CASH" line and the "Pizza" line. Alfredsson and Heatley finished fourth in league scoring with 103 points, while Spezza scored 90 points despite an injury-shortened 68-game season. His 71 assists set a single-season record and finished second in the league behind Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks (96 assists). In the 2006 playoffs, the Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Tampa Bay Bay Thunderbirds, but the Buffalo Sabres lost in five games. Spezza scored 14 points in ten playoff games.
Spezza underwent successful back surgery in the summer of 2006. He stayed on the same pace with Heatley and Alfredsson throughout the season before suffering another injury. He had a career-high 34 goals and finished with 87 points in 67 games. The Senators beat the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Final four games to one on May 19, 2007, with a goal and an assist. Ottawa advanced to the Stanley Cup Final against the Anaheim Ducks, but lost in five games in large part because of Samuel Phlsson's checking line, which was backed by actor Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Spezza led to a franchise-record 22 points, tied for linemates Alfredsson and Heatley in the 2007 playoffs.
Spezza signed a new seven-year, $49 million deal with the Senators from the 2008–09 season to the 2014–15 season, beginning with the 2007–08 season in the final year of his deal. Spezza scored his first NHL hat-trick during a 6–1 Senators victory over the Montreal Canadiens on February 9, 2008. Spezza was instrumental in every one of his teammates' hopes for a career-high six-point game. With 34 goals, he tied his career-high in goals for the year and set a new personal record for points with 92. However, the Senators were unable to advance past the first round of Stanley Cup play the previous season, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games.
Both Spezza and Senators had a rough start to the 2008–09 season. Despite his efforts to avoid injury and participate in all of his team's 82 games for the first time in his NHL career, his point production decreased. Spezza scored 73 points in 82 games, and although the figures were still respectable, they were still below his lowest figures since the first full NHL season in 2003–04. All season long, the team suffered, and they will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1995–96.
Spezza managed to score 23 goals and pick-up 34 assists in 60 games despite missing 22 games due to injury in the 2009-10 season to finish second in scoring. The Senators lost four games to two in the first round of the 2010 playoffs. In the six games, Spezza scored one goal and six assists for seven points. With 24 goals, he also led the team in shots on goal. Spezza's poor defensive play and costly turnovers in the series culminated in him being booed by fans at Scotiabank Place, and fans of the following off-season were rife with rumors that he would be fired. Spezza himself said he did not object to a trade from Ottawa. No trade took place in the end.
Spezza was pushed from behind by Penguins defenceman Kris Letang into the boards on December 26, 2010, a 3–1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Letang was given a two-minute penalty for boarding, and Spezza was expected to miss four to six weeks due to a subsequent shoulder injury.
Spezza, the team's interim captain for Ottawa, was named at the end of the 2010-11 season. Mike Fisher was fired from the team after the team cut him away. Spezza was named as the Senators' permanent alternate captain from 2011-2012. He remained injury-free and finished fourth in league scoring, earning him praise for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Spezza was not a finalist for the award, placing sixth in voting.
Spezza spent time with Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Swiss National League A during the 2012–13 NHL lockout and then returned to the Senators after a deal was reached. In five games, he scored two goals and three assists before being sidelined by a back injury issue. Spezza would be out of the Ottawa line-up for at least two months (and possibly longer) as he recovers from back surgery for a herniated disc. On January 27, the injury occurred during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Spezza was ruled out of the regular season and the first round of the 2013 playoffs. He returned to action on May 19, 2013 in Ottawa's third game of the Eastern Conference Semi-final series against Pittsburgh.
Spezza was voted the eighth captain in Senators' franchise history on September 14, 2013 by long-time colleague Daniel Alfredsson, who joined the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent on July 5, 2013.
Spezza had requested a trade from the Senators during his first season as the Senators captain in 2013-2014. Murray proposed a trade to the Nashville Predators at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft but Spezza denied it by Spezza, as the Predators were one of the teams listed in his restricted contractual no-trade provision.
Spezza was traded to the Dallas Stars (along with Ludwig Karlsson) in exchange for Alex Chiasson, Alex Guptill, Nick Paul, and a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft on July 1, 2014. Spezza signed a four-year deal with Dallas, which began in the 2015-16 season and ended in the 2018-19 season, valuing at $7.5 million per year. In his first season with the Stars, he scored 17 goals and 45 assists in 82 games, but the team failed to qualify for the 2015 playoffs. His offensive play improved the following season, scoring 33 goals in 75 games as the Stars qualified for the Western Conference as the top seed in the Western Conference.
Spezza played in his 1,000th NHL game on October 30, 2018, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4–1.
Spezza, a rookie, signed a one-year, $700,000 deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs in July 1, 2019. Spezza said on signing: "Just to have the opportunity to put on a Leaf jersey is going to be really cool for me." In addition, Spezza was suspended for Toronto's first night game against his old team, the Ottawa Senators, which was highly criticized by Toronto's head coach Mike Babcock. Spezza made his Maple Leaf debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the following game on October 5.
Spezza signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Maple Leafs on October 5, 2020.
After three games for salary cap reasons, the Maple Leafs called Spezza on waivers on January 17, 2021. Spezza's agent told Spezza that if claimed by another team, he would resign. In the end, he went unclaimed and cleared waivers to stay with the Maple Leafs. Spezza will win by 7–3 over the Vancouver Canucks on February 4 for his eighth and final hat trick in his career.
Spezza re-signed with the Maple Leafs on June 16, 2021, costing the minimum of the league minimum, $750,000. Spezza's contract was seen as another local discount for the team's salary cap, saying, "If I could take less, I would" help the team win. Spezza's strong play in a depth role continued his play before being suspended six games on December 8 for a blow to the head of Winnipeg Jets defender Neal Pionk, three days before Pionk injured teammate Rasmus Sandin with a knee-on-knee strike. Spezza, who had a reputation as a safe player who had never been suspended or fined once in his 19 seasons in the NHL, appealed the decision, with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman limiting the suspension to four games on December 17.
Spezza announced his retirement after the Leafs were disqualified in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. Instead, the Maple Leafs gave him a new position as special assistant to general manager Kyle Dubas, which Spezza accepted, saying the Leafs were "very grateful to the Leafs for the fantastic opportunity to move into this new role." It helps me to keep my passion; learn and live new experiences in the sport I love. Spezza's loyalty to his hometown Maple Leafs informed his decision, stating that he felt it was best for the on-ice product for him to retire and open the door for young offensive players. Spezza retired with 995 points in his career, the most of any player to haven't reached 1,000 points.