No. 3: Noah Gregor
Signed to a PTO earlier this week, Noah Gregor is an intriguing option.
Although he’s the most recent Toronto Maple Leafs signing, and even though Zack Aston-Reese did it last year, it’s still extremely rare for a player on a PTO to make a contender out of camp.
Gregor would be a surprising pick to make the Leafs roster, but don’t be shocked if he does.
Pontus Holmberg may be written in as the fourth-line centre right now, but if Gregor has a great try-out, he could get the job ahead of Holmberg.
And that’s not to exclude Holmber – who is fairly promising – from possibly winning a job higher in the lineup.
With 178 games of NHL experience, Gregor has been a physical player throughout his career in the bottom-six of the line-up, which could give him a step-up on Holmberg.
Brad Treliving continues to add physical players and Gregor is no different. However, not only does he have that physical toughness but he showed some offensive upside with 10 goals last year on a terrible San Jose Sharks team.
For Toronto Maple Leafs fans, you’d probably love to see Holmberg in the line-up because he’s been in the system for a few years and you’d love to see what he’s all about, however Gregor seems like more of a Treliving pick who could crack the line-up on opening night.