Michael Pezzetta is living his childhood dream.
Several hours after signing a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs carrying a $812,500 annual average value, the 27-year-old Toronto, Ontario native sat in his childhood room at his parents' house thinking, "How crazy is this?"
"I got a big picture of Mats Sundin on my wall and a couple of pictures of CuJo (Curtis Joseph) and some other guys," Pezzetta smiled as his dream had come full circle. "I get to fight for the opportunity to put this sweater on, and it's just something that I've dreamed of my whole life, and I'm just, it feels amazing."
A sixth-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2016 NHL Draft, Pezzetta didn't have it easy. Usually, selections that late become career AHL players, but throughout the years, the forward fought tooth and nail—quite literally—to earn his spot on an NHL roster.
"I think it was just always believing in myself and just putting the work in. I mean, especially in the summers and during the seasons, I'm just in love with getting better and in love with that grind, and it's what drives me every day," Pezzetta said over Zoom on Wednesday afternoon.
"It's what I wake up and I love to do."
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After five seasons of OHL hockey with the Sudbury Wolves and Sarnia Sting, Pezzetta turned pro, playing his first year with the AHL's Laval Rocket, along with a cup of coffee down in the ECHL with the Maine Mariners.
Following two more seasons with the Rocket, Pezzetta finally got his first taste of NHL action, making his debut with the Canadiens on Nov. 2, 2021. Nearly a lifetime of hard work paid off with the forward playing on one of the most coveted franchises in the league.
"It took me, I think, five or six years to get my first exhibition game with Montreal and the organization from when I got drafted," Pezzetta said. "But when I did [get that game], I was ready for it because I put all those hours in."
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Pezzetta prides himself on being a hard-working forward, always ready to stand up for his teammates while playing strong at both ends of the rink. Over his time in the NHL, the forward's defensive game has improved, and that'll be an area of his game which'll make or break his spot in the lineup with Toronto.
"It gives us some more depth and he's got a skill set in terms of his physicality, good foot speed, able to get in on a forecheck," Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said on Tuesday after signing Pezzetta. "Certainly, excellent teammate. Those are the sort of boxes he checks, and happy to have him with us."
In three seasons with the Canadiens, Pezzetta has scored 15 goals and 23 assists in 200 games. He played 25 games last season and didn't register a point, but said on Wednesday that's not what his game is.
"I know in the years prior, pretty steady player, kind of always getting my 10-15 points in the 50 or so games that I played, and I'm pretty confident I can continue to do that in terms of a points perspective," he said.
"But I think a lot of my game is just being hard to play against, being someone that is defensively responsible a coach can trust, and then you're gonna go out there and you can change the shift of a game with a big hit or just good forecheck, make a good play, and really change the energy and the energy in the room on the bench."
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After signing with his hometown team, Pezzetta says plenty of people in his circle are happy for him, especially his close family members.
"Yeah, like I'm insanely fired up. They might be even more over the top," he laughed.
"I know my mom's super excited that I get to stay home, it's been a while. And then even all my friends and everybody's like all Leafs fans, just through and through, and they're so excited. So many people messaged me the last day-and-a-half now, and it's just surreal. Like, to think that it's a possibility I get to put this sweater on, so I'm just really grateful for the opportunity."
If there's one moment that sticks out to Pezzetta when reminiscing on the Montreal/Toronto rivalry, it's his first point against his hometown team. It was a primary assist on Rafael Harvey-Pinard's second-period goal on Jan. 21, 2023, a game the Canadiens won in overtime.
"I got a nice assist one time against them," Pezzetta said, "and my family was there, and some of my friends were at the game in Montreal, so that was pretty cool. Then we've just had some good battles, where especially when I started in Montreal, we weren't the best team in the standings, and we had beat the Leafs, and it was always a good feeling."
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Pezzetta will be on the other side of the rivalry now, and he'll wear the jersey once worn by his favorite player, Mats Sundin, but with the name "Pezzetta" on the back of it.
"It's hard not to cheer for the Leafs being from Toronto. I can't even explain how stoked I am right now," Pezzetta said.
"It was just like kind of a whirlwind of emotion. I almost, like, couldn't believe it. Came into free agency, and just first time being an unrestricted free agent, and you're wondering how things are going to go. I had some options to go to different places, but to have the opportunity to sign in Toronto, like, I just couldn't pass up on that."
(Top photo of Pezzetta: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
