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2020 NHL Season: Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs’ centers at season pause

By Simon Vacca

TORONTO,ON - JANUARY 8: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a shoot-out goal against the Winnipeg Jets during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 8, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Jets defeated the Maple Leafs 4-3 in a shootout. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO,ON - JANUARY 8: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a shoot-out goal against the Winnipeg Jets during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 8, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Jets defeated the Maple Leafs 4-3 in a shootout. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 7: Jason Spezza #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Ducks 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 7: Jason Spezza #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Ducks 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Jason Spezza

Games Played: 58
Goals: 9
Assists: 16
Points: 25

Jason Spezza’s time as a member of the Maple Leafs was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride — one that the 36-year-old played through with a high degree of class and surprisingly good on-ice numbers.

Let’s recap:

  • On July 1, 2019, Spezza signed a league minimum one-year, $700,000 contract to play out a childhood dream and suit up as a member of the Maple Leafs. Dubas saw the value in a move of this nature, believing that Spezza could serve as a key mentor to Toronto’s younger core, while also adding the occasional scoring touch.
  • In a head-scratching move — which reflected a battle for control within the Maple Leafs organization — then-coach Babcock scratched the veteran forward in the first game of the regular season. To add salt to the wound, the matchup was against the Ottawa Senators — one of Spezza’s old teams.
  • Spezza was rotated in and out of the lineup throughout much of the earlier portion of Toronto’s season, with many suspecting that the center would be traded in light of the head coach’s recurrent scratching of the forward.
  • What was highly unusual about this dynamic was the fact that John Tavares — one of the team’s top centers — had sustained a broken finger in mid-October, and in turn missed an array of matchups throughout the next month. Spezza’s absence from the club’s lineup, then, became all the more puzzling.
  • With the firing of Babcock on Nov. 20, 2019, Spezza’s season started to turn around. Not only was he scratched on a far less recurrent basis, but he also provided a measure of relative consistency for a team whose offensive depth appeared — at times — to be shot. Spezza was placed in a position to succeed, usually circulating between the Maple Leafs’ second, third and fourth lines as both a center and a winger. He played fairly productive hockey and was on his way to surpassing last year’s totals.
  • Spezza’s value to the club did not go unnoticed among players. Teammates often praised his leadership.

I see no reason to sell Spezza’s season short. He offered productive play, timely scoring and top-notch leadership, setting an example for a team that frequently lacked in exhibiting maturity.

If possible, Dubas should opt to re-sign the veteran center.

Grade: A-

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