Jason Spezza
Jason Rocco Anthony Spezza is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and current assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. Spezza played 19 career seasons in the NHL from 2002 to 2022.
After beginning his major junior career at the early age of 15 in the Ontario Hockey League, Spezza was selected second overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators, eventually serving as their team captain following the departure of Daniel Alfredsson. Playing in the American Hockey League in 2004–05 due to the NHL lockout, he won the Les Cunningham Award as league MVP with the Binghamton Senators. In 2005–06, Spezza set an Ottawa Senators franchise record with 71 assists, while hitting the 90-point mark for the first of two times in his NHL career. He later played for the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs. Following his retirement, he spent a year in the Maple Leafs' front office, before taking his current role with the Penguins.
Internationally, Spezza represented Canada at three World Junior Championships and two World Championships. When he made his World Junior debut in 2000, he became the third 16-year-old in history to make the team, after Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros.
Early life
Spezza was born on June 13, 1983, in Mississauga, Ontario. He was born to Italian parents Rino and Donna Spezza along with twin siblings Michelle and Matthew. Growing up in the Toronto area, he watched the Toronto Maple Leafs, but has cited Mario Lemieux as his favourite player as a child. Spezza attended St. Michael's College School.At age one, Spezza won a baby contest and began his youth modelling career. The victory resulted in Spezza becoming the poster boy for Baby, a Broadway musical that played at Toronto's O'Keefe Centre in the summer of 1984. At age five, Spezza was chosen for a Minute Maid commercial. Two years later, he modelled clothing for stores Woolco and Kmart.
Playing career
Junior
Spezza played for the Toronto Marlboros in 1997, recording 114 points in 54 games. At age 15, Spezza began his major junior career in the Ontario Hockey League with the Brampton Battalion in 1998–99, under a rule permitting the then-underage player to play on his hometown team. He scored at more than a point-per-game pace as an underaged player with 71 points in 67 games. He subsequently became the youngest player ever to participate in an OHL All-Star game at age 15. After one season with the Battalion, he was required to enter the OHL Priority Draft and was selected by the Mississauga IceDogs in the team's second season in 1999–2000. He recorded 61 points in 52 games that season before requesting a trade and subsequently being dealt 15 games into the 2000–01 season to the Windsor Spitfires. Spezza went on to record an OHL career-high 116 points in 66 games that season.Entering the 2001 NHL Entry Draft having been named the Top CHL Prospect, Spezza was drafted second overall by the Ottawa Senators, after Ilya Kovalchuk was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers. The second overall pick originally belonged to the New York Islanders but was traded to Ottawa in exchange for Alexei Yashin on the day of the Draft. During the summer of 2001, Spezza passed on an invitation to the Canadian junior team's summer camp because he said he wanted to prepare for his first NHL camp.
After one more OHL season split between the Spitfires and the Belleville Bulls, resulting in a 105-point season, Spezza began his professional career in the American Hockey League. He signed his first professional contract with the Senators, a multi-year deal, on September 5, 2001.
Professional
Ottawa Senators (2002–2014)
Following Spezza's fourth OHL season in 2001–02, he was assigned to the Senators' AHL affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins for the 2002 Calder Cup playoffs, where he made his professional debut, playing in three playoff games and scoring one goal. He made his NHL debut the next season in 2002–03 with Ottawa, playing in 33 games and recording 21 points, and scored his first NHL goal on October 29, 2002, in a 2–1 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers. However, he played the majority of the season in the AHL with Ottawa's new affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, and was called-up regularly to replace injured Ottawa players. He also competed in three Stanley Cup playoff games with Ottawa during his rookie season, helping the team in its 2003 playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals. In his playoff debut on May 21, 2003, Spezza assisted on the game-winning goal in Game 3. The Senators came within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.Spezza played his first full NHL season with the Senators in 2003–04 and scored 22 goals and 55 points in 78 games. However, due to the subsequent NHL lockout, Spezza returned to the AHL in 2004–05. Scoring 117 points with Binghamton, he outscored Michael Cammalleri of the Manchester Monarchs by eight points to capture the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Spezza was also awarded the Les Cunningham Award as league MVP.
With NHL play set to resume in 2005–06, Spezza returned to Ottawa. Having traded centres Radek Bonk and Todd White during the off-season, the Senators started Spezza on the first line between Dany Heatley and rookie Brandon Bochenski, who was Spezza's linemate in Binghamton. Captain Daniel Alfredsson quickly replaced Bochenski on the top line and the new trio become nicknamed the "CASH" line and "Pizza" line. Wingers Alfredsson and Heatley both finished tied for fourth in league scoring with 103 points, while Spezza tallied 90 points despite an injury-shortened 68-game season. His 71 assists established a team single-season record and was second in the league behind Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks. In the 2006 playoffs, the Senators defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion and eighth-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round in five games, but fell to the fourth-seeded Buffalo Sabres in five games. Spezza added 14 points in all 10 playoff games.
During the summer of 2006, Spezza underwent successful back surgery. The following season, he continued on the same pace with Heatley and Alfredsson before suffering another injury. He managed a career-high 34 goals along with 53 assists for 87 points in 67 games as the Senators as a team finished fourth in the East. On May 19, 2007, he scored a goal and an assist as the Senators defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Final four games to one. Ottawa moved to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Anaheim Ducks, but lost to the second-seeded Ducks in five games in large part because the Spezza–Heatley–Alfredsson line failed to perform against Samuel Påhlsson's checking line, backed by star defencemen Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Spezza finished the 2007 playoffs with a franchise-record 22 points, tied with linemates Alfredsson and Heatley.
Beginning the 2007–08 season in the final year of his contract, on November 2, 2007, Spezza signed a new seven-year, $49 million contract with the Senators effective from the 2008–09 season through to the 2014–15 season. Late that season, on February 9, 2008, Spezza scored his first NHL hat-trick during a 6–1 Senators victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Spezza contributed to all of his team's goals for a career-high six-point game. He finished the season tying his career-high in goals with 34 and establishing a new personal mark for points with 92 as the Senators finished seventh in the East. However, the Senators failed to advance past the first round following their Stanley Cup Final run the previous season, falling to the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in a four game sweep.
The 2008–09 season was a disappointing one for both Spezza and the Senators. Though he managed to remain injury-free and played in all of his team's 82 games for the first time in his NHL career, his point production decreased. Spezza managed 73 points in 82 games, and while still respectable, the numbers were his lowest totals since his first full NHL season in 2003–04. The team struggled all season long and would miss the playoffs for the first time since 1995–96, missing by 10 points.
Despite missing 22 games due to injury in the 2009–10 season, Spezza still managed to score 23 goals and pick-up 34 assists for 57 points in 60 games to finish second on the team in scoring as the Senators finished as the fifth seed in the East. In the first round of the 2010 playoffs, the Senators lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two. Spezza finished with one goal and six assists for seven points in the six games. He also led the team in shots on goal with 24. However, Spezza's poor defensive play and costly turnovers in that series resulted in him being booed by fans at Scotiabank Place, and the following off-season was rife with speculation that he would be traded. Spezza himself admitted that he would not object to a trade from Ottawa. Ultimately, no trade occurred.
On December 26, 2010, in a 3–1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Spezza was checked from behind into the boards by Penguins defenceman Kris Letang. Letang received a two-minute penalty for boarding and Spezza was expected to miss four-to-six weeks due to a consequent shoulder injury. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Spezza was named an interim alternate captain for Ottawa after the team traded away Mike Fisher.
In 2011–12, Spezza was named as a permanent alternate captain for the Senators. He remained injury-free and finished fourth in league scoring with 84 points only behind the 93 points from Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, 97 points by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos and the league-leading 109 points by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, respectively. He also earned consideration for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the regular season's most valuable player. Spezza was ultimately not a finalist for the award, finishing sixth in voting.
File:Jason Spezza – Rapperswil-Jona Lakers-Kloten Flyers – 22.12.2012.jpg|thumb|left|Spezza in December 2012. He played with the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Swiss NLA during the 2012–13 NHL lockout.
Spezza spent time with Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Swiss National League A during the 2012–13 NHL lockout and returned to the Senators once a resolution had been negotiated. He registered two goals and three assists in five games before a back injury sidelined him. The Senators announced on January 31, 2013, that Spezza would be out of the Ottawa line-up for a minimum of two months as he required surgery for a herniated disc in his back. The injury occurred in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 27. Spezza ultimately missed the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the 2013 playoffs. He returned to action on May 19, 2013, for the third game of Ottawa's Eastern Conference Semi-final series against Pittsburgh.
On September 14, 2013, Spezza was named the eighth captain in Senators' franchise history, replacing long-time teammate Daniel Alfredsson, who joined the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent on July 5, 2013.
After the conclusion of his first season as the Senators captain in 2013–14, it was revealed by Senators general manager Bryan Murray that Spezza had requested a trade from the Senators. At the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, a potential trade to the Nashville Predators was negotiated by Murray but rejected by Spezza as the Predators were one of the teams listed in his limited contractual no-trade clause.