The Boston Bruins added to their training camp roster on Saturday, signing veteran forward Tyler Johnson to a professional tryout (PTO) agreement. With this move, the Bruins will now be taking a look at another potential bottom-six option for their roster.
While the Bruins have brought in their first PTO addition of the summer, it is still possible that they could consider inviting at least one to training camp. Remember, just last training camp, they had both Danton Heinen and Alex Chiasson on PTOs.
It was reported last month the Bruins were considering extending PTO offers to wingers Blake Wheeler and Kailer Yamamoto. At this juncture of the summer, both players still remain unsigned and have not received a PTO from any NHL club. Thus, if the Bruins wanted to, they still could bring in one of them for training camp.
Wheeler played the 2023-24 season with the New York Rangers. It was a tough year for the former Bruin, as he suffered a serious leg injury and had just nine goals and 21 points in 54 games. Yet, when noting that he had 55 points in 72 games for the Winnipeg Jets back in 2022-23, he could rebound if given another shot.
Yamamoto, 25, spent this past season with the Seattle Kraken, where he had eight goals and 16 points in 59 games. While it was a down season for the former first-rounder, he just had 10 goals and 25 points in 58 games for the Edmonton Oilers in 2022-23. In addition, he set career-highs with 20 goals and 41 points in 81 contests for Edmonton in 2021-22.
It will be interesting to see what happens with these rumored Bruins targets. With Boston having a hole at right wing, bringing in either player on a PTO could be a worthwhile, no-risk move for them to make. Given their past success, each player should be able to land a PTO, whether it is with the Bruins or another team.
