On Noah Gregor’s camp invite & Matthew Knies’ tire-pumping of Auston Matthews: Leafs Morning Take

With training camp set to get underway in a few weeks, the Leafs have signed their first PTO.

Noah Gregor, a 25-year-old centre, who spent the first four seasons of his NHL career with the San Jose Sharks, will provide some internal competition for the likes of Dylan Gambrell, Pontus Holmberg, and Bobby McMann, among others.

Jay Rosehill and I got together for a quick hitter to break it all down. If you a recall, a few weeks ago, we discussed some potential PTO candidates for the Maple Leafs. We both agreed that bringing in a depth centre made a lot of sense, and voila.

 

For my money, Gregor’s very underrated. It will be fascinating to see how he fairs in camp, especially when you factor in who he’ll be battling with for a roster spot. As mentioned above, there’s a few different players who will be vying for the final few roster spots. We’ll see who wants it.

Meantime, want a prime example of what it’s like to play for the Leafs? Earlier this week, at the Upper Deck rookie showcase, Matthew Knies ridiculously made headlines for backing Auston Matthews. I mean, what’s he going to say? When asked about his superstar teammate, Knies said, “pretty damn good. He’s not just the best goal scorer in the NHL but he plays defence too. He’s kind of the best overall player [in the NHL] in my eyes.”

 

Earth shattering stuff, right? Personally, I think it would’ve been a bigger story had Knies not said Matthews or someone on the Leafs. Furthermore, it was just a daily reminder of what it’s like to be a Toronto Maple Leaf. For what it’s worth, I thought Knies handled the situation really well.

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