{"id":50684,"date":"2019-07-01T14:31:45","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T18:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=50684"},"modified":"2019-07-01T14:31:45","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T18:31:45","slug":"kevin-gravel-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/07\/01\/kevin-gravel-toronto-maple-leafs\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Kevin Gravel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Free agent defenseman\u00a0Kevin Gravel<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0has\u00a0signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>\u00a0on a one-year contract for the league minimum $700,000. This contract carries him through the 2019-20 season after which he will again become an unrestricted free agent.<\/p>\n

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#Leafs<\/a> are signing D Kevin Gravel, formerly of #Oilers<\/a>, to a one-year deal worth $700k.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kevin Gravel Signs With the Maple Leafs<\/h1>\n

Over his four-year NHL career Gravel\u00a0has played for the\u00a0Los Angeles Kings<\/a>\u00a0and Edmonton Oilers<\/a>. He has put up\u00a0one goal\u00a0and 12\u00a0assists for 13\u00a0career points in 106\u00a0career games. He was originally drafted in the 5th round, 148th\u00a0overall of the 2010\u00a0NHL Entry Draft by the Kings.<\/p>\n

Last season he scored no goals and three assists for three points in 36 games played. He also added four minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 48.7 percent Corsi-For and a relative Corsi of +0.7.<\/p>\n

Gravel spent a solid portion of the season in Bakersfield of the AHL.<\/p>\n

What This Means for the Future<\/h2>\n

Gravel slots in as a depth defender for the Maple Leafs, and due to the injury of\u00a0Travis Dermott<\/strong><\/a> it’s entirely possible he starts the season with the team. While he is a left-shot defenseman, who the Leafs have plenty of, he’s very large and brings size to a smaller team. He could play well in a shutdown role if called upon and is good in his own zone. These are things that Leafs fans should love to hear.<\/p>\n

Gravel is 27 years old and is probably at his ceiling already. However, he provides Toronto with a solid depth option should injuries strike or other unforeseen circumstances occur. He certainly has NHL capability but is also very flexible. He could see a role with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies helping develop young defensemen down there as well. This is a really smart signing for Toronto, and it’ll be interesting to see how it pans out.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>