Training camps might have already started, but invites are still being handed out.
The Boston Bruins opted to take a look at a veteran defenseman on Saturday, signing Anton Stralman to a professional tryout offer with an invitation to training camp.
With the preseason now underway, Stralman will likely draw into a few games for the Bruins before the club makes a decision on his future.
Stralman can certainly bring some needed depth to a blueline that will be without a number of key pieces for the first few months of the season.
The 36-year-old somehow logged over 21 minutes in nightly ice time for the Coyotes last season, beginning nearly 70 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone, which is a daunting task given the quality of the team around him. Naturally, Stralman got caved in at five-on-five, getting out-chanced and out-shot during his usage as the Coyotes fought for the title of Worst Team in the League. But given his heavily defensive deployment and the fact that he was strapped to Dyson Mayo, one of the worst regular defenders in the NHL, all season, what more could you expect?
Stralman will never be treated to such a heavy workload again — for good reason. But as a sixth or seventh defenseman on a Bruins squad hoping to extend its contention window and is looking for right-shot depth to begin the season, the veteran can still be of value, adding some defensive prowess and puck-moving ability to an NHL blueline.
