Spezza brings ‘vintage’ touch to the Leafs

When they’ve nicknamed you “Vintage” around the dressing room, let’s just say you aren’t a Calder Trophy candidate.

But at 36 and not far removed from an uncertain future with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jason Spezza doesn’t mind younger players ribbing him now that he’s a regular part of Sheldon Keefe’s reconfigured lineup.

“Vintage is kind of a fun little thing,” the former Windsor Spitfire said Thursday morning before the Leafs played the Flames in Calgary. “Guys give me a hard time about my age in here. The league is like that in general. I look around and there’s not that many who I came up with who are still playing. Dan Hamhuis was in my (2001) draft year, Mikko Koivu, (Ilya) Kovalchuk and I look up to (late 1990s draft picks) Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Someone told me I’m the 12th or 13th oldest in the league and that feels weird. There’s a big divide between 30 and 36 these days as opposed to the past. It’s our job to be a good veteran presence.”

This last stretch is how Spezza envisioned the season unfolding for him in his hometown as a fourth-line, second power-play contributor, not marginalized as departed Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock seemed to prefer.

He played in 10 and sat for 10 of Toronto’s first 20 games, including the old coach’s infamous opening-night snub.

“I have a bigger impact in the room and everywhere because I’m playing,” Spezza said. “You get to see how the room is acting and that’s where you can use your experience. When you’re out of the lineup, you’re just trying to stay out of the way and keep yourself sharp.”

Spezza didn’t pout at being sat Oct. 2 against the Ottawa Senators, his former team, and to be fair, Babcock did start increasing his ice time in the face of injuries.

Under Keefe, it has been anywhere from just under 10 minutes to more than 15 minutes a night, depending on special teams.

“I definitely want to be in the lineup every night, get a little flow to my game,” Spezza said. “Coming here, I just wanted a role and be part of the team, (knowing) I would move up and down the lineup and fill holes with injuries. And I want a chance to win.”