As reported elsewhere, center Dylan Gambrel was listed on the Leafs’ roster this morning.
Mistake? Signing up to come? I’m already hanging out with a four year old at home on a rainy day? we will see! pic.twitter.com/558tPyOctH
— Joshua Kloke (@joshuakloke) 3 July 2023
It seems to be a strange mistake, so I doubt it is a mistake. just ahead of time.
Puck Pedia is reporting that it is a one-way deal, with a one-year minimum salary of $775,000.
Dylan Gambrel is 26 years old and a right-shooting center. Already the fault seems to be creeping up. He was the Sharks’ second-round pick in 2016 and has played a total of 233 NHL games there and in Ottawa. He has 17 goals. Depth center, then.
Ottawa bought him last season for $950,000, a fairly modest salary for a center playing limited minutes – a little less than those depth wingers who aren’t Ryan Reeves. He gets no offense, in fact he makes David Kampf a genius at creating scoring chances. His defense has been better when he hasn’t been on his senses, which is mild praise to be reckoned with. He has played around 12 minutes a game for most of the season as he plays PK, where he seems to be mildly talented. Surprisingly, his faceoff percentage isn’t great, only occasionally reaching 50% and resting at 46.5% last year. (This guy should have been a keeper.)
It’s hard to find deep players with more than replacement level skill in any one thing, and the hardest is a 4C who can do something useful in the faceoff dot so you don’t have to break out John Tavares for every draw you think That’s important.
If his intention is to skate with Reeves and then play PK, I think that’s fine. No real value addition.