Jason Spezza has added another paragraph to his growing NHL management resume.
Spezza was named General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ American Hockey League affiliate on Monday. He’ll direct all facets of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, while also continuing on as the NHL club’s assistant GM. It’s the same role, for example, that Ryan Bowness holds in Ottawa/Belleville.
As a player, Spezza is one of the greatest Sens scorers of all time, standing second only to Daniel Alfredsson in goals (251), assists (436) and points (687). When Alfie left in 2013, Spezza was handed the captaincy that season. Instead of embracing the role, Spezza asked for a trade after one season. GM Bryan Murray accommodated, trading him to Dallas.
After five years in Dallas and three more in Toronto, Spezza retired in 2022. That’s when he and then Leafs‘ GM Kyle Dubas developed their current managerial partnership.
“We talked to (Spezza) after the 2022 playoffs… and he had expressed the ambition to get into management,” Dubas told the media (Sportsnet) on the day of his hiring in Pittsburgh last year. “So we built out a plan for him for the year, and to say he jumped all the way in would be an understatement. I mean, the amount of work that he put in on all fronts to try to learn as much as he could and advance himself as quickly as he could through the year was very impressive.”
Things have definitely moved along quickly for Spezza, who’s been rising up the ranks and moving past other NHL front office candidates like they’re Sheldon Souray.
Spezza worked for one year in Toronto as Dubas’s special assistant. When Dubas left the Leafs last year and later joined the Penguins as their President of Hockey Operations, he brought Spezza to Pittsburgh to be his assistant GM.
Dubas said at his welcoming news conference that h e loves Spezza’s relatability factor and his interest in player development.
“He’s close enough in terms of his playing experience that he can help and relate to the players, but provide sort of that conduit between management and the players where he can hold them accountable, push them, but then also provide us some feedback of where we can help them without crossing any lines of confidentiality or conflict of interest. And he’s able to thread the needle perfectly.
“And I think with our group here (in Pittsburgh), with where we’re at now, but also where we want to go, his affinity for the development…