Spezza's career came full circle on July 1, 2019, when the Toronto native signed with his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, at age 36.
It was a new chapter for someone who's been a marquee player virtually since he was born. At the age of 1 he became the poster boy for a Broadway musical called "Baby" that was playing at a theater in Toronto. That morphed into a child modeling career in which Spezza was chosen at the age of 4 for a Minute Maid television commercial, and at the age of 6 for clothing ads for Woolco and Kmart.
Spezza's career came full circle on July 1, 2019, when the Toronto native signed with his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, at age 36.
It was a new chapter for someone who's been a marquee player virtually since he was born. At the age of 1 he became the poster boy for a Broadway musical called "Baby" that was playing at a theater in Toronto. That morphed into a child modeling career in which Spezza was chosen at the age of 4 for a Minute Maid television commercial, and at the age of 6 for clothing ads for Woolco and Kmart.
Spezza's hockey career has followed a similar path.
He began his junior career at the age of 15, scoring 71 points in 67 games as an underage player for Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League. A year later, when he made his IIHF World Junior Championship debut, Spezza joined Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros as only the third 16-year-old to make Canada's WJC roster.
It wasn't the last time Spezza stood out from the crowd.
Rated the top Canadian Hockey League prospect ahead of the 2001 NHL Draft, Spezza was selected with the No. 2 pick by the Ottawa Senators.
After being named MVP of the American Hockey League while playing with Binghamton in 2004-05, Spezza made his first impact with the Senators, setting a team record with 71 assists during the 2005-06 season.
That season was the first of two in which Spezza hit the 90-point mark in Ottawa, and he went on to produce four seasons of at least 30 goals, the first coming in 2006-07. Spezza scored 34 goals that season, then tied for the League lead with 15 assists and 22 points during the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Senators reached the Final for the first time before losing to the Anaheim Ducks.
Spezza helped lead the Senators to the playoffs four more times over the next six seasons and he was named the eighth captain of the Senators on Sept. 14, 2013. But Spezza's captaincy was short-lived; he was traded to the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2014 and signed a four-year contract on Nov. 21, 2014.
The contract came less than two weeks after Spezza put his name in the record books yet again, this time by becoming the second player in NHL history to score his 700th career point in his 700th career game.
Prior to Spezza hitting that mark on Nov. 8, 2014, with an assist against the San Jose Sharks, only Ilya Kovalchuk had accomplished that feat.
Spezza had his fifth 30-goal season in 2015-16, when he scored 33 for the Stars. He remained in Dallas through the 2018-19 season, then became a free agent and decided the time had arrived to come home.
Spezza announced his retirement from the NHL on May 29, 2022, ending a 19-season playing career. He joined the Maple Leafs front office as a special assistant to the general manager.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- OHL All-Rookie Team (1999)
- AHL All-Rookie Team (2003)
- AHL First All-Star Team (2005)
- John P. Sollenberger Trophy (AHL - Top Scorer) (2005)
- Les Cunningham Award (AHL -- MVP) (2005)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2008, 2012)
- Signed as a free agent by Rapperswil (Swiss), September 19, 2012.
- Traded to Dallas by Ottawa with Ludwig Karlsson for Alex Chiasson, Alexander Guptill, Nick Paul and Dallas' 2nd round pick (later traded to New Jersey -- New Jersey selected Mackenzie Blackwood) in 2015 NHL Draft, July 1, 2014.
- Signed as a free agent by Toronto, July 1, 2019.
