The team immediately indicated that the 38-year-old ex-center will join management as a special advisor to general manager Kyle Dubas.

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Spezza also played for the Ottawa Senators from 2002 to 2014, then the Dallas Stars from 2014 to 2019.

The Senators ’first-round pick, second overall in the 2001 draft, had 995 points, including 363 goals, in 1,248 regular-season games. Add in 28 goals and 48 assists in 97 playoff games.

My whole life has been hockey and coming home to form a circle has been amazing to me. Spezza said in an official statement released by Maple Leafs.

On the international scene, Ontario has represented the Maple Leaf many times over. He helped his country win six medals, including three on Junior Team Canada between 2000 and 2002. In 2015, he was part of the Canadian team that won the World Hockey Championship. He was then named the tournament’s most outstanding-only attacker.

To the fans in Ottawa, Dallas, Toronto and throughout the league, your support and impact on my career has been immense. I will never live again and I will never forget how I felt every time I jumped on the ice at the screams of people.Spezza added.

– with information from CBC Sports