Another domino has fallen on what seems to be an earthquake-altering day within the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun Jason Spezza, who spent this season as the Special Assistant to General Manager Kyle Dubas, submitted his resignation prior to Maple Leafs President, Brendan Shanahan’s news conference on Friday.
For those wondering where all this leaves Jason Spezza, hearing that he tendered his resignation from the Leafs prior to Brendan Shanahan’s news conference today.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 19, 2023
This is yet another catastrophic loss for the Maple Leafs, who already let go of Dubas earlier on Friday.
Spezza joined Toronto’s front office after retiring from professional hockey almost one year ago to the day. Many wondered if he’d be a candidate for the Maple Leafs’ now vacant GM job, but that’s now clearly off the table.
Shanahan, during his press conference, didn’t divulge Spezza’s departure. Even when asked if there were any other decisions to me made, such as the future of head coach Sheldon Keefe or anyone else within the organization, Shanahan didn’t go into much detail, other than saying he’d let the new GM handle that part of the business.
“There are a lot of people who are shocked and saddened today, and it’d be a little strange if it wasn’t that way.” Said the Maple Leafs’ President.
“But we also have a lot of people here that are coming back to work and doing their jobs and getting ready to do the things that they are paid to do, and that was encouraging. As far as any big major decisions, the biggest one is finding a GM.”
Spezza, ultimately, looks to be sticking by Dubas’ side following his exit from the Maple Leafs’ organization. That says a lot about the way this situation was handled behind the scenes.
LeBrun also reached out to Dubas for comment but the former Maple Leafs GM “respectfully” declined, saying: “There will be a time and a place for that.”
It’s not known if there’ll be anymore departures from the Maple Leafs organization at this time, but it’s safe to say that these two departures have dramatically changed the view of this organization.
