NHL insider shares an update on the future of Jason Spezza.

One of the most discussed stories on the day that Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan fired Kyle Dubas as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs was the sudden and surprising resignation of Jason Spezza from his position as special assistant to the general manager.

Many questioned the timing of Spezza's resignation but since that time his story has fallen somewhat by the wayside with the Maple Leafs hiring a new general manager in Brad Treliving and with Kyle Dubas finding a new home of his own as president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Last week NHL insider Elliotte Friedman speculated about a theory regarding Spezza's resignation, a theory that would have seen the Leafs appoint Spezza as interim GM following the firing of Dubas. This week the NHL insider provided some additional insight regarding Spezza's future, indicating that he is very likely to join his former colleague in Pittsburgh.

"As mentioned I think one of the reasons Spezza resigned when he did is because they were thinking of making him interim GM in Toronto," reiterated Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. "I don't see him as GM but I do think he's going to be in the Penguins' organization."

One of the issues here for Dubas, Spezza and the Penguins could be the term remaining in Spezza's contract with the Maple Leafs, however the insider believes the Penguins' unique ownership structure gives them a workaround for that particular problem.

"I think the biggest thing is he had term left so technically Toronto could block it," said Friedman. "Now someone said to me 'You could hire him to work for Fenway' unless there is specific language in his contract preventing that."

This is certainly a very interesting wrinkle for both the Maple Leafs and the Penguins, especially with talk this weekend already of Kyle Dubas potentially targeting key figures in the Maple Leafs' front office to bring over with him to Pittsburgh.