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Toronto Maple Leafs To Sign Noah Gregor

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After a strong preseason performance, winger Noah Gregor has successfully turned his PTO with the Toronto Maple Leafs into a full-time contract with the club.

Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving informed the media today that Gregor would be signed, and The Nation Network’s Jason Gregor reports that it’ll be a one-year, league-minimum $775k pact.

Alongside the move, the Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran reports that 2023 first-round pick Easton Cowan will be loaned back to his OHL team, the London Knights.

Gregor impressed in both training camp and the preseason, skating in five total exhibition games with the Maple Leafs. He scored a goal and added two assists in that span, tying him for the Maple Leafs’ team lead in preseason points according to Natural Stat Trick.

Now 25 years old, Gregor is a versatile forward capable of plying wing or center. He spent the last two seasons with the San Jose Sharks, the team that selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, but was non-tendered this summer.

Gregor scored 10 goals and 17 points last season, skating just under 13 minutes per night with virtually no exposure on special teams. That looks to be the role he’s been signed to play in Toronto.

Treliving did express some optimism that Gregor could earn an expanded role and even work as a penalty-killer. The Athletic’s Jones Siegel reports he’s playing alongside center David Kämpf and veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves, so it appears the fourth line is where Gregor will slot in to start the season.

Waivers: 10/08/23

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Oct. 9: Four players on this list were claimed today: A.J. Greer (Calgary), John Ludvig (Pittsburgh), Ivan Prosvetov (Colorado), and Lassi Thomson (Ottawa). All others have cleared and are expected to be assigned to their team’s respective AHL affiliates, aside from Boyd, who PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports remains on the Coyotes’ active roster for now.

Oct. 8: It’s expected to be a busy day on the waiver wire, as NHL teams are making their final adjustments to the roster they’ll bring into the start of the 2023-24 season. There have already been numerous notable names exposed to the waiver wire thus far this preseason, and that list could only expand today. All players from yesterday’s waiver wire have cleared.

Anaheim Ducks

D Lassi Thomson
G Alex Stalock
F Andrew Agozzino

Boston Bruins

F Patrick Brown
F A.J. Greer

Arizona Coyotes

F Travis Boyd
F Zach Sanford
G Ivan Prosvetov

Carolina Hurricanes

D Dylan Coghlan

Chicago Blackhawks

F Joey Anderson

Colorado Avalanche

F Riley Tufte

Dallas Stars

F Riley Damiani

Detroit Red Wings

F Zach Aston-Reese

Edmonton Oilers

F Raphael Lavoie
F Lane Pederson
D Ben Gleason

Florida Panthers

F Zac Dalpe
D John Ludvig
D Casey Fitzgerald

Los Angeles Kings

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Montreal Canadiens

F Joel Armia
D Gustav Lindström

Ottawa Senators

F Bokondji Imama

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Magnus Hellberg
F Colin White
D Mark Friedman
F Vinnie Hinostroza
F Radim Zohorna

St. Louis Blues
F Mackenzie MacEachern
D Calle Rosen
G Malcolm Subban
F Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Zach Bogosian
F Gabriel Fortier

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Martin Jones
F Kyle Clifford
F Dylan Gambrell
D William Lagesson
D Maxime Lajoie

Vancouver Canucks

F Jack Studnicka
D Christian Wolanin

Vegas Golden Knights

F Grigori Denisenko

Winnipeg Jets

D Kyle Capobianco
G Collin Delia
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby

The big surprise here out of Arizona regards Boyd. The versatile 30-year-old veteran doesn’t have an exorbitant contract (just $1.75MM through the end of the season) and has scored 69 points across the last two seasons.

He’s been something of a breakout player for the Coyotes as his 17-goal, 35-point 2022-23 was far and away his best season in his career, so it’s definitely a surprise to see him exposed on waivers.

For Anaheim, the move to waive Stalock likely means that Lukáš Dostál has won the Ducks’ backup goalie job behind John Gibson, as should Stalock clear the Ducks will have the option to send him down to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

In Edmonton, it comes as a little bit of a surprise to see Lavioe waived. The 23-year-old power forward was drafted just outside of the 2019 first round, and took a real step forward in his development last season. He became a genuinely impactful AHLer, scoring 25 goals and 45 points. He’s a name to watch in terms of players with the potential to be claimed out of this group.

Anderson-Dolan finally made the NHL on an extended basis last season, and scored 12 points in 46 games. He even got some playoff action under his belt, but seeing as he was a near-point-per-game scorer in his last season in the AHL, it seems the Kings could prefer to have him start the season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

Rosen appears the likeliest candidate from the Blues’ group of waived players to be of interest to other teams, as he’s owed just a $762.5k cap hit this season and impressed in 49 games of NHL action last season. He scored 18 points in that span and could interest teams in need of some additional defensive help.

Out of Tampa is Bogosian, and it’s reported that the Lightning are hoping to put the veteran blueliner in a position to land on another team where he can play a bigger role than he’d be offered in Tampa. The 33-year-old won a Stanley Cup for the Lightning and it seems that the organization is looking to do right by the player while also turning to other options to staff their defense.

One of the biggest names on waivers comes out of Toronto, as Jones played in 48 games last season but now finds himself exposed to 31 other clubs. With an $875k cap hit, the veteran netminder could end up claimed by teams in need of instant goaltending support, such as the Lightning who don’t have much depth after the injury to superstar Andrei Vasilevskiy.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Curtis McElhinney, Jake Muzzin In Off-Ice Roles

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a few staff changes, notably hiring ex-NHLers in off-ice roles. Per the announcement, former Maple Leafs backup goalie Curtis McElhinney has been hired as the team’s Director of Goaltending Development and Scouting, defenseman Jake Muzzin has been named a pro scout, and Chris Bourque will be a college free agent scout.

The most notable announcement here is that of Muzzin, as he still has an active playing contract with the Maple Leafs. As noted on CapFriendly, Muzzin is set to spend the season on long-term injured reserve as repeated injuries have ended his playing career. This announcement confirms that although Muzzin won’t provide his services on the ice with Toronto, he’ll still contribute to the organization’s success in an off-ice role.

Matt Murray Undergoes Successful Surgery

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Sportsnet is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Matt Murray has undergone successful bilateral hip surgery and is expected to miss between six and eight months. This likely means he will miss the entire 2023-24 NHL season. Murray was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in July 2022 along with a third-round pick in exchange for a seventh-round pick and future considerations. It was essentially a salary cap dump at the time by the Ottawa Senators, who retained over $1.5MM of Murray’s $6.25MM cap hit.

The former two-time Stanley Cup champion has fallen on hard times in recent years as his health has kept him out of the lineup for extended periods of time in each of the past five seasons. Murray hasn’t played more than 30 games in a season since the 2019-20 season when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. When he has been available to play, he hasn’t been able to match the levels of play that made him a Stanley Cup champion in 2016 and 2017. Murray hasn’t posted a goals-against average below 3.00 since 2019-20 and has seen his save percentage hover around .900 since 2018-19.

Murray has has struggles with his health for a long time now and one must wonder if he will be able to overcome his latest setback and get back into an NHL lineup. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native has never been able to capture the magic that he put on display early in his career and has seen his stock tumble to the point of being a cap dump last summer.

Murray appeared to be on the cusp of superstardom in 2017 when the Penguins elected to keep him over franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury who was taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. The Penguins had signed Murray to a three-year extension at the time and thought they had an elite netminder that could lead them to more Stanley Cups. Unfortunately, Murray’s play flatlined and he was unseated as the starter by Tristan Jarry. He was then dealt to the Senators in 2020 and signed to an extension in a move that proved disastrous for Ottawa.

Players Still On Training Camp Tryouts

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While there have been many players who had been in training camps on tryout deals cut over the past week or so, there are quite a few whose fates have not yet been determined.  Here’s a rundown of players who are still on PTO agreements with their respective teams.

Boston Bruins

F Danton Heinen

Edmonton Oilers

F Adam Erne
F Sam Gagner

Gagner did not play in the preseason as he works his way back from hip surgery.

Florida Panthers

F Brett Ritchie

New York Islanders

F Jackson Cates

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Libor Hajek
D Mark Pysyk
F Austin Wagner

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Austin Watson

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Noah Gregor

Vegas Golden Knights

F Max Comtois

Some of these players will likely receive an NHL contract but cap-strapped teams will wait until it’s absolutely necessary to convert them to a guaranteed deal, either to optimize their LTIR pool or to try to save a day or two worth of cap space.  Meanwhile, other teams could also come calling if a waiver target doesn’t make it to them.  One way or the other, their fates will likely be decided soon.

Vancouver Canucks Acquire Sam Lafferty

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The Vancouver Canucks have acquired forward Sam Lafferty, sending a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return.

It appears as though there was a somewhat competitive market to secure Lafferty’s services, as The Athletic’s James Mirtle reports that the Maple Leafs “had multiple offers for Lafferty”.

While Lafferty, 28, isn’t the flashiest player, it’s not difficult to see why teams would be eager to surrender late-round picks to acquire him. The 28-year-old is playing on an affordable $1.15MM cap hit through the end of the season, meaning there’s no significant long-term commitment necessary for the Canucks.

Instead, they’ll be able to add a quality bottom-six forward for the rest of the season at a decently affordable price. Lafferty is versatile, able to play both on the wings and at center, and plays a sound defensive game. He can help the Canucks on their penalty kill and chip in some offense once in a while, as he did last season when he scored 12 goals and 27 points.

Are there better players for a team to staff on its fourth line and penalty kill? Absolutely. But at the price of a fifth-round pick, Vancouver has unquestionably improved its roster. For Toronto, this deal shaves a few hundred thousand dollars off their salary cap, assuming they sign PTO invitee Noah Gregor to a league-minimum contract.

This signing also indicates that 19-year-old 2022 second-rounder Fraser Minten could begin the season on Toronto’s NHL roster. Minten scored 67 points in 57 games last season for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and has by all accounts had a strong preseason and training camp.

ECHL Newfoundland Names Matt Cooke Head Coach

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  • Many NHL fans from the 2000s and early 2010s will remember enforcer Matt Cooke, who earned himself many lengthy suspensions over the course of his 16-season, 1,046-game NHL career. After only coaching for a few seasons at the high school level in Minnesota since retiring in 2015, he’s now being entrusted with the head coaching job of an NHL affiliate. The ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers, the second-tier affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced today Cooke will be their next head coach. Cooke succeeds Eric Wellwood, who was promoted to an assistant role with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last summer.

Maple Leafs Recall Nine From Marlies

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Leafs Expect John Klingberg Back For Season Opener

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  • After battling an upper-body injury throughout the last week, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John Klingberg will be ready for the team’s season-opening contest against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, head coach Sheldon Keefe tells NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy. Klingberg, the team’s key free agency addition to their top four on defense, says he feels good enough to play in tomorrow’s preseason finale against the Detroit Red Wings but that he’s “going to listen to the doctors, I think they’re smart enough to know.” The veteran 31-year-old power-play quarterback is expected to see reps on the team’s top man-advantage unit to start the season, allowing longtime Leaf Morgan Rielly to help bolster the second power-play unit.

William Nylander Open To Continuing Extension Talks Into Season

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In a recent episode of Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun expressed confidence that the NHL will be expanding, sharing it’s a matter of when rather than if. The TSN panel shared four cities that could be up for a new NHL team: Houston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Quebec City. LeBrun added, “It felt like [Bettman] was so close to saying it was just going to happen… he kept talking about the recurring conversations of interest he’s having with those four cities.”

However, the TSN group also shared that before the league can worry about adding new teams, they’ll need to find clarity around the Arizona Coyotes arena situation. This certainly makes sense – the league needs to keep any relocation options open – but may also freeze any expansion talks for the short term. Bettman has recently expressed optimism in the Coyotes’ ability to find a new, more permanent home in the desert, although nothing is set in stone just yet. Arizona’s situation will be key to watch as the NHL considers where to add new franchises, and how many cities could be in line for expansion.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon took a hard hit in the team’s Thursday night preseason game. He sat out of the rest of the game and may be dealing with an injury that holds him out for even longer. Head coach Dean Evason said, “It’s not positive, but we’ll get a better evaluation tomorrow.” This will be an important thing to monitor, as Spurgeon’s impact in Minnesota is second to none. In addition to serving as their captain for the last three seasons, Spurgeon has also become a consistent double-digit goal-scorer capable of 40-point seasons. Wild fans will hold their breath, as his availability for opening night now seems uncertain.
  • The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel shared that Toronto forward William Nylander gave his agent, Lewis Gross, permission to continue negotiating a contract extension into the regular season. However, Nylander said he doesn’t want to hear updates until negotiations are closer to the finish line. Gross, notably, also represents Johnny Gaudreau, who had his own round of contract extension discussions with now-Leafs general manager Brad Treliving. The two sides, Gross and Treliving, aren’t unfamiliar with big-money extension discussions, which should be an interesting contributor to Nylander’s ongoing discussions.

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