Hands up if you thought Noah Gregor would be the most consistent offseason addition at the 20-game mark for the Maple Leafs?
Yeah, you’re not alone.
Simply put, the 25-year-old deserves his flowers at the quarter-pole of the campaign. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how or why the San Jose Sharks, who are destined for a lottery pick in June’s NHL Entry Draft, felt so compelled to move on from the speedster last summer. In retrospect, that doesn’t seem like a very wise decision, does it?
Personally, I love how quiet and humble the Alberta native is. He just goes about his business. He’s the perfect example of letting your play do the talking. He did it in training camp and was subsequently rewarded for his efforts with a new contract. Then, despite how busy the fourth line conversation has been in this market to start the season, he’s off to a very respectable start. Prorated over 82 games, Gregor’s on pace for 12 goals, which would be a career high. I’ll take that from a fourth liner any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Furthermore, just days after he inked his PTO with Toronto, Jay Rosehill and I had a chance to spend some time with the 2016 fourth rounder on Leafs Morning Take. We were blown away by his professionalism, his demeanour, and his maturity. He’s been an incredible bargain buy to-date.
Far and away, the thing that makes Gregor such a useful player is the fact that he brings something completely different than some of the other players around him in that role. He’s got bite, he’s got speed, and as we’ve seen early on, he’s got a bit of finish to his game as well. I mean, he did pot a career high 10 goals in 57 games last year.
Chalk the early season Gregor success story up to things you love to see.
Well done, Brad Treliving.
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