SPEZZA RETURNING FOR ANOTHER YEAR

Jason Spezza is coming back to the Toronto Maple Leafs for another year. At 37, the self-described Swiss Army Knife forward agreed to a $700,000 US deal Monday, the league minimum salary, after making a positive impact in his first Leafs' season. Spezza was in 58 regular season games, managing nine goals and 16 assists and appeared in all five playoff matches against Columbus. The thousand-game veteran has 940 career points with Ottawa, Dallas and Toronto and will be reunited this year with former Sens head coach Paul MacLean, who made him captain of the Senators after Daniel Alfredsson retired. MacLean was recently added to the Leafs staff as an assistant. With Spezza happy to continue playing in his hometown and not seek a raise for the cap-strapped Leafs, his return was highly anticipated. The club faces losing a couple of bottom six forwards to free agency and potential trades.