Jason Spezza shares statement on death of younger brother

Matthew Spezza, the younger brother of former Maple Leaf Jason Spezza, has died.

Jason Spezza, now an assistant general manager with the Pittsburgh Penguins, issued a statement via the Penguins on the team’s X account on Monday.

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“On behalf of my family, it is with the heaviest of hearts that I share that my younger brother, Matthew, passed away due to an accidental overdose over the weekend,” Spezza said in the statement. “My family and I are heartbroken and ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

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A goaltender during his playing days, Matthew Spezza spent a couple of seasons of major junior hockey in the mid-2000s in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kingston Frontenacs, Ottawa 67’s, London Knights and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and also had a stint with the St. John’s Fog Devils of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Spezza, who was 37, also played minor pro hockey.

When Jason Spezza was an emerging star with the Brampton Battalion and Mississauga IceDogs in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a gregarious Matthew often would be at OHL rinks with the family to support his older brother. 

The passing of Matthew Spezza comes days after Don Cherry posted on X that Scott Page, the first captain in IceDogs history, recently passed away. Page, who was 44, was a teammate of Jason Spezza in Mississauga during the 1999-2000 season.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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