This summer has been all about getting bigger for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
One piece of that was the signing of UFA forward Michael Pezzetta from the Montreal Canadiens last week. While he’s not a goalscorer by any means, he’s a big, hard-working fourth-liner who has the chance to help Toronto’s depth this season.
On Thursday, the Toronto native joined Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on Leafs Morning Take and gave insight on that tough style of play he wants to bring this year.
“I’m gonna finish every check and make the other team’s life difficult, I think that’s my x-factor,” Pezzetta said. “But I also have the skill to be able to play and the pace to be able to keep up with today’s game. I think you see more and more now teams are going a little bit heavier with their fourth line. You need to be able to play hard to win, and I think that kind of plays right into my style.”
With the physical style of play he’ll be bringing to this team that has longed for years for a Darcy Tucker or Wendel Clark type of player again, Rosehill pointed out that Pezzetta has the chance to become a fan favourite this year. Pezzetta said he’s well aware of the love for that grit in this market, but his focus first is just on earning a roster spot.
“I think for myself I always just try to be me, you know?” the 6-foot-1, 219 lb. forward said. “That’s high energy, whether that’s in the room or on the ice, and just kinda bring that jam … I think you have to play hard to be successful in today’s game. For me, I’m just trying to do everything I can to make sure I have a roster spot come the start of this season, and I’m sure the rest of that stuff will just fall into place.”
It’s no secret that last year did not go the way Pezzetta had hoped. The 27-year-old failed to register a point in a career low of 25 games played, averaging less than six minutes a night in his few appearances. But from that experience, Pezzetta shares he learned a lot about how to be a good teammate even when things aren’t working out personally.
“When you’re not going in the lineup it’s easy to feel bad for yourself, but at the end of the day if you do that, you’re just going to dig yourself a bigger hole,” Pezzetta said. “So I showed up to the rink every day with a positive attitude and tried to be a positive presence in the room, whether that was pushing culture or just being someone that guys want to be around. Even if it wasn’t so easy to put a smile on my face at the rink sometimes, it’s just something I had to do. Looking back at that, the guys appreciated that, and I learned a lot about being mentally tough. That’s something I can carry on to the rest of my life and the rest of my career.”
Given the limited playing time Pezzetta is likely to get with this deep Leafs roster, he’ll need to carry those lessons into this season. But if he can fight for that time on ice and use his time on ice to fight, he has the chance to make a real impression with his hometown team this year.
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