It’s officially the middle of August, and that is exactly when teams around the National Hockey League start to look at the remaining unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and consider offering them a professional tryout contract (PTO).
A PTO is a contract that allows teams to sign any unsigned veteran free agents still looking for employment. Most players are signed between mid-August and the start of training camp. This gives the new players time to get acclimated to a new team, see if they gel with teammates in practice and even play some pre-season games to show off their skills.
After the pre-season, teams can either sign the player to a contract or release them. The most recent Canuck to sign a PTO and sign with the club is Alex Chaisson in 2021. Chaisson went on to score 13 goals and 22 points in 67 games during his only season in Vancouver.
Last season, 27 PTOs were given out, with just four players signing with their team: Adam Erne and Sam Gagner signed with the Edmonton Oilers, Noah Gregor signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and, believe it or not, now-Canuck Danton Heinen signed with the Boston Bruins after a PTO.
Heinen is a perfect example of how a player can come and make an impact off a professional tryout contract. The Washington Capitals already made a move early today as they signed former Capital Jakub Vrana to a PTO on Thursday morning. So why not dive into five of the remaining options that the Vancouver Canucks could sign to a PTO this summer?
Kevin Shattenkirk
2023-2024 stats: 61 GP, 6 G, 18 A, 24 P
Throughout his 16-year NHL career, Shattenkirk has been known as an offensive defenceman. The long-time St. Louis Blue was always trusted to run the powerplay, amassing 26 powerplay points in a season twice and a career-high point total of 45 points in the 2013-2014 season.
The 35-year-old showed no signs of slowing down offensively, especially come playoff time. Last season with the Boston Bruins, Shattenkirk maintained his role as the point man on the second powerplay unit, averaging the second most ice time in the regular season (1:26) and playoffs (1:57) on the powerplay.
If the Shattenkirk were to sign in Vancouver, there likely wouldn’t be room for him on the powerplay. And if he’s not playing on the powerplay, how effective will he be? He’s seen his ice time dip to 15:47 last season, but that was to be expected when he signed a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins. It looks like Shattenkirk is at a point in his career where he will trade money and playing time for an opportunity to win.
Tyler Johnson
2023-2024 stats: 67 GP, 17 G, 14 A, 31 P
Looking at what the Canucks brought in during free agency somewhat contradicted the team’s philosophy from last season. General Manager Patrik Allvin put an emphasis on building depth through the middle of the ice. However, they brought in four wingers (Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood and Daniel Sprong) and zero centres throughout the offseason.
Johnson spent the previous three seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks, accumulating 32 goals and 70 points in 149 games. Playing for a struggling Blackhawks squad, he had minimal help around him while playing predominantly in a third-line role and still averaged 0.47 points per game.
The Canucks are set down the middle with Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Pius Suter and Teddy Blueger, but what depth do they have other than that? Nils Åman would be the current fifth centre, but when the team struggled with depth in the playoffs, he only suited up for five games and averaged 9:27 minutes of ice time. Åman struggles in the faceoff circle, with a career 40% winning percentage.
At 34 years old, Johnson could be a decent depth piece with playoff experience who could help in the faceoff dot (49.6% career faceoff winning percentage) and some offensive firepower down the middle.
Justin Schultz
2023-2024 stats: 70 GP, 7 G, 19 A, 26 P
This would be a complete full-circle move for Schultz to come to Vancouver. After his collegiate career, the former second-round pick didn’t want to sign with the team that drafted him (Anaheim Ducks), and his decision came down to the Vancouver Canucks or the Edmonton Oilers. Ultimately, Schultz signed in Edmonton and left a bitter taste in the Canucks fans’ mouths.
But now, the Kelowna, B.C., native has an opportunity to come to his home province. Throughout his 12-year NHL career, the 34-year-old has scored 71 goals and 324 points in 745 games, with two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins to boot.
Schultz may want to sign elsewhere with a more secure position in an NHL lineup, given he’s 17:03 minutes of ice time over the last three seasons. But considering we’re halfway to September and he remains unsigned, an opportunity to win in a lesser role may be more attractive for the 34-year-old.
Sammy Blais
2023-2024 stats: 53 GP, 1 G, 6 A, 7 P
We discussed Blais as an option for a Dakota Joshua replacement earlier this offseason, and he’s still without a team. Blais was a speedy winger before he tore his ACL. Since then, he’s lost a bit of his speed and struggled to produce points. The left-winger has scored 27 goals and 71 points in 257 NHL games.
It may be difficult for the 28-year-old to get into the lineup with all the wingers Vancouver added this offseason, but doesn’t Blais just seem like a player who would excel under Rick Tocchet? He brings energy and toughness to his team’s bottom six, as he finished 24th in the league in hits (178) despite playing just 53 games.
Blais would fit in nicely if other heavy hitters like Joshua or Sherwood were to miss time.
Tyson Barrie
2023-2024 stats: 41 GP, 1 G, 14 A, 15 P
Now Barrie seems to be the most talked about option for the Canucks to sign to a PTO. Being a Victoria, B.C. native, there have been rumours of a potential home coming for some time. Once during his Colorado Avalanche days and as recently as last season with the Nashville Predators.
Originally traded as a central piece in exchange for Mattias Ekholm, Barrie struggled to find his groove in Nashville. During his season and a half with the Predators, he scored four goals and 27 points in 65 games. However, the offensive upside is still there. Before that trade, Barrie was having a resurging season, scoring 10 goals and 43 points in 61 games. Much of his success came as the quarterback of the high-flying Oilers’ top powerplay unit, where he registered 28 of his 43 points.
At just 33 years old, there is still juice left in the tank for Barrie. If he is signed to a PTO, he would make it a competitive battle for the sixth and final defenceman position on the Canucks roster with Vincent Desharnais and Derek Forbort.
There’s a theme with these three defenceman PTO options. They’re all offensive, puck-moving, right-shot defencemen who could help be a secondary defenceman option on the second powerplay unit if things dry up or help if injury occurs.
Heaven forbid that’s the case, but who steps up on the back end if something happens to Quinn Hughes or Filip Hronek? Carson Soucy averaged 24 seconds, Tyler Myers averaged 16 seconds, and Forbort and Desharnais averaged only two seconds of powerplay time per game.
The Canucks did a great job of revamping the club’s second powerplay unit, but they don’t have a contingency plan if the worst is to occur. Signing an offensive defenceman to a PTO as a seventh defenceman option to a cheap contract could only help prepare the team offensively for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.
Training camp begins September 19th in Penticton, B.C. We’ll see if any of these players join the Canucks as they compete for a roster spot.
Which one of these six UFAs would you like the team to sign to a PTO, Canucks fans?
