TAMPA – Not all prime time players are in their prime.
Not all characters wear capes.
Not all leaders carry letters.
During the 82nd game of the greatest regular season in Toronto’s history, Maple Leafs, with this new wave of doodles, double windmills, celebrating superstars scratched for the holidays, 38-year-old Jason Spca turned out to be “A” on the sweater of the team he was sick of as a boy.
In vintage fashion, he belittled honor, role.
“At this point in my career,” the former Ottawa Senators captain said that night, “I think you’re running without letters.”
The 38-year-old Spca has supported this since landing at home.
There was a very real chance for the Leafs to lift an early 2-0 deficit from Game 5 in a 3-2 series hole and a chance for the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning to eliminate them on home ice on Thursday.
But when Toronto skaters entered the locker room, sullen and abandoned, the oldest of them intervened. Fourth-line status and occasionally healthy scratches, damn it.
Speza sent an exciting message, full of firm love. Strictly, but encouragingly. A slap in the face and a pat on the back, all at once.
Since then, each of his teammates has talked about the impact of the pulpit between intermissions, which made them listen and prompted them to take action.
“It was almost everything. He told us what to do. And then he was also very positive and talked about the band we had here. I thought it was a great speech and he encouraged us all, “said Michael Bunting. “He is the leader in our room and he is very vocal. Everyone listened to what they had to say. And it was a great speech. He really moved the boys. ”
“When he speaks, everyone listens. I personally listened there. And I think the boys reacted well, “said Jack Campbell, whose relationship with Spezza dates back to their days in Dallas.
Spezza also made sense to talk to the goalkeeper during the first TV timeout in the main game. No friend wanted to make the details of this conversation public, but the impact was palpable.
Campbell locked in and allowed just one goal in 53 minutes, leaving Leafs time to breathe, restart and organize a memorable, critical comeback.
“Every time there was an encouragement in the room, which we had a lot of this year, it was great,” Campbell admitted. “We never looked back.”
You need to gain a level of trust among teammates. Then you can lean on that.
Spca has learned this over 19 seasons, 1,248 games and 995 points in the regular season, but even more so for his 95 coveted playoff games and the beating he suffered in Anaheim in 2007 after a series of points per game to the Cup final. Stanley with Ottawa, which he entered for almost 21 minutes a night … and left without the Cup.
“Sometimes you have to say things that may be awkward, and sometimes you have to positively reinforce things, and I think that’s all part of the process of being on a team,” Spca said.
“I was very lucky to be a young man who was the best choice for a good team. So, I had Daniel Alfredson, Chris Phillips, Wade Reden. Chris Kelly was a man I learned a lot from even though we were the same age. He is a very stoic leader who speaks at the right time. I am very happy to be in good teams knocking on the door. “
At the end of his career, the specialist took the minimum wage and influence in the team to stay on the threshold.
It is adapted. He is humble. He is cohesive.
He is desperate in the best possible way. To the point where a laugh, not a fighter, threw gloves with Dean Coocan from Columbus in the balloon for the playoffs in 2020 in a catchy attempt to ignite life in the boys.
“Everything you go through becomes part of your experience and part of your history and part of what you call for in difficult times. Spezz has been around longer than anyone else, “said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe.
“Spez has a lot of history for him. He has been through a lot. He has seen a lot. And he also knows he doesn’t have much time left. So, he’s all-in.
“He is all-in when he gets his chance and opportunity, but he is also all-in to help others try to get to where we need to go. So he is doing his best to try and our team will succeed. ”
Why didn’t Keefe change his fourth line after the disappointment of Game 4? Because it was a choice between Kyle Clifford, Wayne Simmonds or Spca.
In words and deeds, it would be hard to argue that anyone wants this chance more than Spezza, whose beard ratio in the playoffs is starting to be more salt than pepper.
It represents frantic urgency and patient wisdom at once.
It’s such a beautiful and potentially heartbreaking thing to see it play out.
Ask Patrick Marlowe or Joe Thornton or Henrik Lundqvist.
“You try to learn from the mistakes of the past – that’s what we try to do. But we are also a different group. The boys are at different stages of their careers. The boys are mature, “said Spca.
“But we also moved on. And this is a new version of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Spezza’s speech can become something. But it will be even greater if young men who respect him can follow suit by playing .500 hockey or better in games 6 and 7.
“We deserved the feeling that the crowd was behind us and it was special. This is something that when you leave the rink after such a night and see the city behind us, I think it should feed you to want to play more hockey games, “said Spca.
As he speaks, it is clear that the best choice for young senators with goofy giggles is a completely playful face. All business.
All in.
“Now that we’re here, we can’t let the moment escape.”
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