Jason Spezza

Lore & Background

Spezza began his major junior career at age 15 in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Brampton Battalion, becoming the youngest player ever to participate in an OHL All-Star game. He was selected second overall in the 2001 NHL entry draft by the Ottawa Senators, after Ilya Kovalchuk went first to the Atlanta Thrashers. The pick originally belonged to the New York Islanders but was traded to Ottawa along with Zdeno Chára and Bill Muckalt in exchange for Alexei Yashin on draft day. Spezza spent most of the 2002–03 season in the AHL, making his NHL debut that season and scoring his first NHL goal on October 29, 2002, against the Philadelphia Flyers. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played in the AHL with the Binghamton Senators, winning the Les Cunningham Award as league MVP and the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as leading scorer. Returning to Ottawa in 2005–06, he was placed on a line with Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson, forming the "CASH" or "Pizza" line. Spezza set a Senators franchise record with 71 assists that season and hit 90 points for the first of two times. In the 2007 playoffs, he recorded a franchise-record 22 points as Ottawa reached the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Anaheim Ducks in five games. He later played for the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs before retiring in 2022.

Reader's Guide

Jason Spezza's career is defined by his exceptional playmaking ability and his role as a key offensive driver for the Ottawa Senators during their most successful period in the 2000s. His 71-assist season in 2005–06 remains a franchise record, and his 92-point campaign in 2007–08 demonstrated consistent elite production. Spezza's time in Ottawa included a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2007, where he tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with 22 points. After leaving Ottawa, he played for the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs, contributing as a veteran centre. Following his retirement, Spezza moved into front-office roles, first with the Maple Leafs and then as assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager of their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Internationally, he represented Canada at three World Junior Championships and two World Championships, and at age 16 became the third player in history to make the World Junior team, after Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros. His early life included a brief stint as a child model, winning a baby contest that led to him becoming the poster boy for the Broadway musical Baby in 1984.

Did You Know?

• At age one, Spezza won a baby contest and became the poster boy for the Broadway musical Baby.
• He was the third 16-year-old to make Canada's World Junior team, after Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros.
• He was drafted second overall in 2001 after the pick was traded from the New York Islanders to Ottawa along with Zdeno Chára and Bill Muckalt.