Leafs forward throws shade at his former team during media appearance
Toronto is one of the hottest markets in the sport of hockey - if not the hottest - and sometimes it's a culture shock for new players when they arrive in the city and play in front of this fan base, even if it's just pre-season.
Signed to a professional tryout, Noah Gregor came from the basement-dwelling San Jose Sharks and is quickly learning what playing in a hockey-crazy city like Toronto looks like. This morning, Gregor was made available for his first media session on his PTO and the first observation he had was about how many media members are invested in the team. As he looked out at the sea of reporters on Monday, his reaction was priceless:
Gregor had played in parts of 4 seasons with the Sharks, accumulating 26 goals and 51 points in 178 games. In those 4 seasons, the Sharks finished 8th, 6th, 6th, and 7th respectively in the Pacific Division. They also finished 3rd last in the league in 2019-20, 22nd in 2021-22, and 29th this past season.
Their losing seasons has hurt them in more ways than one, especially in terms of attendance. The Sharks finished 8th last in 2019-20, 4th last in 2021-22, and 2nd last this past season. As for the Maple Leafs, they finished 4th in attendance in 2019-20 and 5th this past season, so coming to Toronto is definitely a culture-shock for a player like Gregor.
The fact that Maple Leafs scrimmages and pre-season games have more fans than some Sharks' regular season games is a little astounding but also not as surprising as you'd think. Nevertheless, Gregor is soaking in his opportunity with the Leafs as he looks to win a roster spot with a strong training camp.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 25 | 402 ANSWERS Leafs forward throws shade at his former team during media appearance Would you like to see Noah Gregor earn a roster spot with the Leafs this season? | ||
| Yes, absolutely | 207 | 51.5 % |
| No, not really | 53 | 13.2 % |
| Who? | 142 | 35.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
