It’s not only Kyle Dubas leaving the Maple Leafs.
Jason Spezza resigned on the same Friday morning that Dubas and the Leafs parted ways, per a source close to Spezza. He was hired last summer, not long after announcing his retirement as a player, as the special assistant to the GM — aka the special assistant to Dubas.
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It’s not surprising then that he would leave alongside Dubas.
Spezza spent most of this past season right next to Dubas. They watched practices together. They traveled together. They sat next to each other in the same press box suite.
Spezza quickly became a hugely valuable resource to Dubas, what with his decades of playing experience and obsession with everything hockey. He brought a unique sensibility to the Leafs front office, having just played on the team itself.
“I think it’s added a different dimension and element to (the front office) that we previously didn’t have,” Dubas told The Athletic at one point during the season.
Spezza’s departure could be the first of many in a Leafs front office that’s suddenly without its GM.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
