NHL training camps will take place starting in mid to late September, a time when teams will explore options and invite current free agents to participate in their camps as PTOs (Professional Tryout) to get a first-hand look and determine if they’d like to offer them a contract.
To date, five teams have already invited players to their training camps on PTOs; the Tampa Bay Lightning have invited Logan Brown, the Washington Capitals have invited Jakub Vrana, the Vegas Golden Knights have invited Tanner Pearson, the Pittsburgh Penguins invited Nikolai Knyzhov, and the Vancouver Canucks invited Sammy Blais.
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In each of his first two training camps as the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks, Pat Verbeek has utilized PTOs. His most notable invitees include Zack Kassian and Scott Harrington in 2023 and Nathan Beaulieu in 2022, who made the team out of camp and played 52 games for the Ducks in 2022-23.
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Heading into the 2024 offseason, Verbeek stated his desire to add a top-six forward and top-four defenseman when free agency opened on July 1. He made significant offers to high-profile players but didn’t reel in the big fish he sought. He pivoted by trading for defenseman Brian Dumoulin and forward Robby Fabbri.
As it stands and including Fabbri, the Ducks have a full top-nine forward group sprinkled with talented, young players like Cutter Gauthier, Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, and Mason McTavish.
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Verbeek has also stated his want for the bottom of the forward lineup to produce at a higher rate in the 2024-25 season. If he remains unsatisfied in that department, he could invite a PTO player to camp looking to earn a roster spot for the upcoming season.
A player Verbeek is sure to be familiar with is two-time Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson.
Johnson (34) was originally signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning as an undrafted free agent after his final season with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL when Verbeek was the Lightning’s Director of Professional Scouting, before his promotion to Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel. Verbeek and Johnson were in the Tampa Bay organization together from 2011 to 2019.
Johnson’s career had been on a steady downward trajectory since Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2014-15 when he was projected as a core member of the team, scoring 72 points in 77 regular season games and added 23 more in 26 playoff games.
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He won Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021 in a role as a depth forward.
He was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in July 2021 before undergoing artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck. In the past two seasons with the Blackhawks, Johnson scored 63 points in 123 games in a middle-six forward role.
While Johnson may not be the threat to score 30 goals he once was, he still has the explosion in his stride, motor to win pucks, and puck skills to remain a complimentary piece alongside a young, play-driving forward or two currently inhabiting the Ducks forward group.
Johnson ate tough minutes on a basement-dwelling team in Chicago over the last few years, playing a responsible brand of center, supporting pucks, and never straying from position while in defensive zone coverage.
He’s had a tumultuous relationship with injured reserve over the last five seasons, failing to eclipse the 65 games played mark (including the COVID-shortened season of 2020-21). Since his disk surgery, he’s dealt with a concussion along with foot and ankle injuries.
If Pat Verbeek isn’t completely sold with how the Ducks forward group is shaping up and isn’t completely ready to award a roster spot to a player currently in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls should a significant injury or two dent the lineup, Johnson could prove a versatile and reliable option with some valuable experience from playing in a winning environment.
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