Spezza hockey nerd and veteran presence, says Seguin

TORONTO — Tyler Seguin called Jason Spezza a nerd. A hockey nerd, to be exact. Seguin meant it as a compliment. As in, no one studies the game quite as intently as his former Dallas Stars teammate. Spezza’s a bookworm. A guy whose hockey IQ makes up for whatever physical attributes he might lack on the ice these days.

“It’s just a figure of speech,” said Seguin, laughing, at the annual BioSteel Hockey Camp on Tuesday. “I don’t actually think he’s a nerd. I guess it depends if he’s wearing his glasses that day or not. No offence. No, he’s a heck of a player and a heck of a person. He’s going to do great for the Leafs.

When asked what qualities the Maple Leafs are getting in Spezza, Seguin didn’t hesitate: “Character. Leadership.”

They’re also getting someone who is very old. The new oldest player, in fact, on the team.

Spezza, who is 36, is actually four years younger than Patrick Marleau, whom the team traded this summer. But based on production, it might seem like it’s the other way around.

It’s been four years since Spezza scored 33 goals and 63 points with the Dallas Stars. Since then, his offence has steadily declined. He had 15 goals and 50 points in 2016-17 and followed it up with backto-back seasons of eight goals and less than 30 points.

That’s half the goal total of what Marleau scored in Toronto last year in what everyone would agree was a terribly disappointing season.

In other words, Spezza won’t make anyone forget about Nazem Kadri, whose spot Spezza could be filling in the lineup. And yet, the Leafs aren’t paying him to be Kadri or Marleau or anything more than a fourth-line player.

That’s the big difference between Spezza’s signing and what the Leafs had been paying Marleau.

While Marleau earned $6-million last season, Spezza will be paid the league minimum of $700,000. Even if he scores just eight goals again, there’s value there. If not, it’s a risk worth taking.

“I don’t think he needs any more money. He’s made enough,” said Seguin. “He’s a guy who just loves the game, loves making players better, loves figuring out what his role is on a team and trying to do that to the best of his ability.”

As for that ability, Spezza might not skate like he used to or score like he used to. But he can still dish the puck. On a team with so many offensively gifted wingers — he might end up on a line with William Nylander, Kasperi Kapenen or Andreas Johnsson — Seguin said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the grizzled veteran ends up having a bounce-back year and scoring 15 to 20 goals.

That would be a bonus. Spezza’s main job for the Leafs will be off the ice, where the team could still use a mentor after losing Marleau and 38-year-old Ron Hainsey in the summer.

While the kids have effectively taken over, the Leafs are still a team that lacks experience and leadership. They don’t have a captain yet. Now that Marleau and Hainsey are both gone, Spezza joins defenceman Jake Muzzin as the only players to have been in a Cup final.

Spezza has experience. He knows the pressures of playing in a Canadian market. He knows what it’s like to be on a team that heads into the season with high expectations. More than that, he knows what it’s like to have won a playoff round, a concept that is foreign to Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Nylander, Morgan Rielly and many others.

“He’s great in the locker room,” said Seguin. “I’m going to miss him. He’s the first guy I text or call when it comes to hockey. He’s going to do a great job with all the young guys in Toronto.”

The NHL hasn’t been kind to its elders. This summer saw Dion Phaneuf, Corey Perry and several others either bought out or shipped out to make room for the new young millionaires.

Perry eventually signed with the Stars. But Marleau, along with Phaneuf, Joe Thornton, Justin Williams and Thomas Vanek, are still sitting out there in free agency awaiting their next contracts.

“I don’t know if the media overlooks them,” Seguin said of the veterans looking for jobs. “I just think sometimes there’s so much excitement about the new players and the kids in the league that you stop talking about the guys in the mid to upper-30s. But those guys are what kind of gels a team together. You need those guys on your team.”

Did the Leafs need Spezza? Well, check back in April once the playoffs begin.