Former Maple Leafs Forward Signs New PTO Deal With the Predators

With the season quickly approaching and only a few weeks left to get anything done, teams are filling their roster with last minute additions and PTO's in order to see who might fit in best among the bevy of veterans who are still without a contract.

We've seen names like Jack Johnson, Oliver Kylington, and Kevin Labanc all sign PTO's recently, and we can add another to the list.

It was announced on Monday via The Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco that the Nashville Predators have added former Leafs forward Dylan Gambrell on a PTO in the hopes he can add some help with their depth.

It's a pretty quiet signing all things considered but it shows that the Maple Leafs really need to start getting their ducks in a row if they want to sign anyone whether it be to a genuine contract or even a PTO.

Gambrell, 29, spent last season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL; the affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets and registered 25 points in 54 games (13 goals, 12 assists).

He spent one season with the Maple Leafs organization (2023-24) and skated in 66 games while adding 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists); he was drafted 60th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2016.

GM Barry Trotz is simply trying to make sure he has some solid depth in case of emergency and could end up signing him to play in the AHL with a promise of a potential call-up.

Gambrell has 233 NHL games under his belt, and has 40 points in those six seasons (17 goals, 23 assists) and is part of a growing trend of veteran PTO signings in the wake of a very thin free agent market.

With only Jack Roslovic, Matt Grzelcyk, Evgeny Kuznetsov and maybe Jakub Vrana still as the 'premium' targets, teams are looking for other ways to see if they can find help without overcommitting.

Toronto had a lot of success last year with names like Steven Lorentz and Max Pacioretty, and could very well invite someone like Andreas Athanasiou to camp to add some offense.

It's part of a new strategy from the league's GMs to maximize their roster potential while minimizing their salary issues. Most PTO contracts sign for the league minimum or only a million dollars give or take; that's peanuts to some teams who have excess cap and in need of help.

Nashville seems to want to make sure they have as much help as possible, and given that they are trying to have a rebounding year it's better to be safe than sorry.

Toronto needs to start taking notes.