Veteran forward could make for an intriguing PTO at Leafs training camp
The Leafs are currently $1.5M over the cap with training camp beginning in just a few short weeks, leaving them not many options to fill some holes left by the departures this off-season.
While they hope the likes of Nick Robertson, Joey Anderson, Nick Abruzzese and potentially even Pontus Holmberg will take the next step in their development and push for spots with the Leafs, there are some intriguing names out on the free agent market who could make for intriguing professional tryout (PTO) options. One such player available is 33-year-old Sam Gagner.
A GTA native, Gagner is familiar with the organization as he was loaned to the Marlies a few years ago to allow him to be close to home for family reasons. Those family reasons could be enough to persuade him to join the Leafs on a PTO alone. If not, maybe John Tavares can have a word or two with him given the fact that they're close friends.
Gagner would fill the void of fourth line center for the Leafs, but also has the skillset to provide an offensive punch to the bottom 6 of the lineup. He also shouldn't cost much more than league minimum if he does enough to earn a spot in the lineup during camp.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 28 | 342 ANSWERS Veteran forward could make for an intriguing PTO at Leafs training camp Should the Leafs ink Gagner to a PTO for training camp? | ||
| Yes | 196 | 57.3 % |
| No | 82 | 24 % |
| Just sign him to a league minimum deal | 64 | 18.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
