Noah Gregor signs PTO with Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed center Noah Gregor to a professional tryout contract for 2023-24.

Gregor is Toronto’s lone PTO signing to date, and the 24th overall this summer according to CapFriendly.

Drafted 111th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2016, Gregor has spent his entire pro career with the club. He had a career-best 10 goals in 2022-23, but saw his offense jump fall from 23 to 17. It was his first full season in the NHL after bouncing between San Jose’s NHL and AHL clubs over the past four years.

In 178 games with the Sharks, Gregor has 26 goals and 51 points – mainly in a bottom-six role. He also has 40 points in 43 AHL games with the Barracuda, but has never played more than 25 games in an AHL season – making him a valuable scorer in the second-tier league.

Away from the pro game, Gregor won the 2019 WHL championship with the Prince Albert Raiders, and helped Canada take silver at the 2022 IIHF World Hockey Championship.

The Leafs are tight up against the cap for 2023-24, with a projected $2.943 million in cap space once Jake Muzzin and Matt Murray go on long-term injured reserve. The club has some options to clear space, including putting Martin Jones and Dylan Gambrell on waivers. Pontus Holmberg and Matthew Knies are both waiver-exempt, although it seems unlikely they’d send down Knies after his playoff performance.

The team already has some significant center depth, but Gregor could still become a AAAA player for Toronto – someone with NHL experience that bounces between the NHL and AHL. That is, of course, if he does enough to earn a contract like Zach Aston-Reese did a year ago.