Toronto Maple Leafs sign Dylan Gambrell to one-year contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs have inked forward Dylan Gambrell to a one-year, one-way deal worth $775,000. Gambrell played the 2022-23 season for the Ottawa Senators. He scored four goals and 10 points in 60 games along with a -4 rating and 35 penalty minutes.

The depth center played an average of 11:23 minutes per game last season. He was initially intended to be the 13th forward on the Sens roster or even in the American Hockey League. However, after Josh Norris went down with an shoulder injury and missed nearly the entire season, Gambrell was thrust into a bigger role.

He was originally selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks. He played three successful seasons for the University of Denver after being drafted into the NHL. Gambrell became an NHL regular during the 2019-20 season, scoring five goals and 11 points in 50 games for the Sharks. In the next two seasons, the former playing for the Senators after an early-season trade that sent him there, he did much of the same, contributing very little offence but sticking around the NHL roster.

Gambrell was an RFA in the Senators’ organisation following this past season but they did not qualify him. As they are a team that has center depth consisting of Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, and Mark Kastelic, they didn’t see a need for Gambrell going forward.

The 26-year-old has played 233 games in the NHL over his career, scoring 17 goal and 40 points in that span along with a -28 rating and 79 penalty minutes. He has averaged 12:35 of ice time in the NHL and a 46.1% faceoff percentage. He also has 23 goals and 58 points in 69 games played in the AHL for the San Jose Barracuda.