This summer has been a difficult one for free agents and a number of depth forwards are heading to training camp on professional tryout contracts. Find a complete list of players trying to catch on via PTOs here.
This off-season has been a difficult one for free agents, which has led to one of the most impressive crops of players signing professional tryouts in recent memory. Some players who were thought to be possible free agent targets — players like Curtis Glencross and Tomas Fleischmann — have had to settle for coming into camp with the hope of landing a job via training camp.
Players on PTOs will begin their quest for jobs later this week when training camps open league-wide. How many of these players land NHL contracts is yet to be seen, but some teams could end up benefitting big time from an off-season in which free agent contracts were hard to come by.
Here are the players currently on PTOs:
Anaheim Ducks
Sheldon Brookbank, D (2014-15: Kazan, KHL. Stats: 35GP, 3G, 4A, 7Pts.)
Vitaly Vishnevski, D (2014-15: Yaroslavl, KHL. Stats: 43GP, 0G, 3A, 3Pts.)
Brendan Burke, G (2014-15: Calgary/Portland, WHL. Stats: 38G, 20W, 11L, 4OT, 2.98 GAA, .918 SP)
Arizona Coyotes
Keith Aulie, D (2014-15: Edmonton. Stats: 31GP, 0G, 1A, 1Pt.)
Corey Potter, D (2014-15: Adirondack, AHL. Stats: 0G, 10A, 10Pts.)
Joey Crabb, RW (2014-15: Hartford, AHL. Stats: 66GP, 12G, 16A, 28Pts.)
Boston Bruins
Jonas Gustavsson, G (2014-15: Detroit. Stats: 7GP, 3W, 3L, 1OT, 2.56 GAA, .911 SP)
Buffalo Sabres
Patrick Kaleta, LW (2014-15: Buffalo. Stats: 42GP, 0G, 3A, 3Pts.)
Calgary Flames
Douglas Murray, D (2014-15: Kolner, DEL. Stats: 8GP, 0G, 1A, 1Pt.)
Ryan Wilson, D (2014-15: Colorado. Stats: 3GP, 0G, 0A)
Aaron Johnson, D (2014-15: Binghamton, AHL. Stats: 73GP, 6G, 29A, 35Pts.)
Chicago Blackhawks
Daniel Paille, LW (2014-15: Boston. Stats: 71GP, 6G, 7A, 13Pts.)
Jan Hejda, D (2014-15: Colorado. Stats: 81GP, 1G, 12A, 13Pts.)
Lubomir Visnovsky, D (2014-15: Islanders. Stats: 53GP, 5G, 15A, 20Pts.)
Tomas Kopecky, LW (2014-15: Florida. Stats: 62GP, 2G, 6A, 8Pts.)
Michal Rozsival, D (2014-15: Chicago. Stats: 65GP, 1G, 12A, 13Pts.)
Colorado Avalanche
Jack Skille, RW (2014-15: Columbus. Stats: 45GP, 6G, 2A, 8Pts.)
Andrej Meszaros, D (2014-15: Buffalo. Stats: 60GP, 7G, 7A, 14Pts.)
Columbus Blue Jackets
James Sheppard, LW (2014-15: San Jose, Rangers. Stats: 71GP, 7G, 11A, 18Pts.)
Antti Pihlstrom, LW (2014-15: Ufa, KHL. Stats: 60GP, 16G, 12A, 28Pts.)
Florida Panthers
David Booth, LW (2014-15: Toronto. Stats: 59GP, 7G, 6A, 13Pts.)
Martin Havlat, RW (2014-15: New Jersey. Stats: 40GP, 5G, 9A, 14Pts.)
Los Angeles Kings
Peter Budaj, G (2014-15: St. John's, AHL. Stats: 19GP, 0W, 9L, 1OT, 3.55 GAA, .888 SP)
Minnesota Wild
Leland Irving, G (2014-15: Ufa, KHL. Stats: 20GP, 2W, 8L, 3.35 GAA, .883 SP)
Montreal Canadiens
Tomas Flesichmann, LW (2014-15: Florida, Anaheim. Stats: 66GP, 8G, 19A, 27Pts.)
New Jersey Devils
Lee Stempniak, RW (2014-15: Rangers, Winnipeg. Stats: 71GP, 15G, 13A, 28Pts.)
Tyler Kennedy, RW (2014-15: San Jose, Islanders. Stats: 38GP, 6G, 8A, 14Pts.)
New York Islanders
Steve Bernier, RW (2014-15: New Jersey. Stats: 67GP, 16G, 16A, 32Pts.)
Matt Carkner, D (2014-15: Bridgeport, AHL. Stats: 19GP, 2G, 1A, 3Pts.)
Tyler Barnes, RW (2014-15: Toledo, ECHL. Stats: 71GP, 34G, 40A, 74Pts.)
Parker Milner, G (2014-15: Quad City, ECHL. Stats: 43GP, 24W, 14L, 2OT, 2.28 GAA, .920 SP)
Eric Boulton, LW (2014-15: Islanders. Stats: 10GP, 2G, 0A, 2Pts.)
New York Rangers
Brett Bellemore, D (2014-15: Carolina. Stats: 49GP, 2G, 8A, 10Pts.)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tom Sestito, LW (2014-15: Vancouver. Stats: 3GP, 0G, 1A, 1Pt.)
Sergei Gonchar, D (2014-15: Dallas, Montreal. Stats: 48GP, 1G, 13A, 14Pts.)
St. Louis Blues
Scott Gomez, C (2014-15: New Jersey. Stats: 58GP, 7G, 27A, 34Pts.)
Scottie Upshall, LW (2014-15: Florida. Stats: 63GP, 8G, 7A, 15Pts.)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ray Emery, G (2014-15: Philadelphia. Stats: 31GP, 10W, 11L, 7OT, 3.06 GAA, .894 SP)
Ryan Martindale, C (2014-15: Syracuse, San Antonio, AHL. Stats: 64GP, 16G, 11A, 27Pts.)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Brad Boyes, RW (2014-15: Florida. Stats: 78GP, 14G, 24A, 38Pts.)
Curtis Glencross, LW (2014-15: Calgary, Washington. Stats: 71GP, 13G, 22A, 35Pts.)
Devin Setoguchi, RW (2014-15: Adirondack, AHL. Stats: 3G, 7A, 10Pts.)
Mark Fraser, D (2014-15: New Jersey. Stats: 34GP, 0G, 4A, 4Pts.)
Vancouver Canucks
John Kurtz, LW (2014-15: Norfolk, AHL. Stats: 72GP, 4G, 5A, 9Pts.)
Travis Ehrhardt, D (2014-15: Utica, AHL. Stats: 41GP, 3G, 4A, 7Pts.)
Washington Capitals
Derek Roy, C (2014-15: Nashville, Edmonton. Stats: 72GP, 12G, 20A, 32Pts.)
Winnipeg Jets
Thomas Raffl, LW (2014-15: Salzburg, Austria. Stats: 52GP, 26G, 27A, 53Pts.)
David Leggio, G (2014-15: Portland, Bridgeport, AHL. Stats: 28GP, 8W, 15L, 3.66 GAA, .869 SP)
(Last updated Sept. 16, 12:00 p.m. ET)