Edmonton Oilers fans can dream about a summer PTO splash, but the odds of that route actually happening look slim.
Professional tryouts have long been one of the league’s low-risk tools: a team gets a look, a player gets a chance, and nobody is tied down if it doesn’t work. The Oilers have used that lane before, sometimes walking away, sometimes turning a camp invite into a contract. So with Patrik Laine, Michael Bunting, Vladimir Tarasenko, Eeli Tolvanen, and Evander Kane still unsigned, it’s easy to picture one of them showing up in Edmonton on a tryout.
But that picture may not match reality.
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal doesn’t see many, if any, PTOs coming for the Oilers. He wrote, “…with only four exhibition games rather than the normal eight for Oilers and vets having to play two games minimum, I just don’t see many PTO’s if at all. Have to look at prospects too.”
David Staples, also of the Edmonton Journal, echoed that view after a popular Oilers account floated Matheson’s point. “Yup,” he wrote.
The issue is simple: there’s less runway this summer. The NHL has trimmed preseason from eight games to four as part of the move to 84 regular-season games from 82, and that matters a lot for tryout players.
Those exhibition games are where PTO candidates usually get the clearest evaluation. Cut the games in half, and the window to judge someone gets a lot smaller.
That leaves questions the Oilers would have to answer fast. What would they really learn about Laine that they don’t already know?
Is the point to check on his health? Maybe.
But if he only gets into two games, is that enough to tell the team anything meaningful? Maybe yes.
Maybe not.
From the player side, a PTO can still serve a purpose even if it doesn’t lead to a contract. Skating with an NHL club can help a player get into shape and keep building toward a deal elsewhere. It doesn’t automatically mean there’s a real shot to make the team.
For this summer, though, PTOs figure to be a much tougher sell. The unsigned players will likely be focused first on getting actual contracts before they even think about taking the tryout route.
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