By: Eamonn McLean | Follow me on Twitter/X @EamonnMcLean44
The Boston Bruins are no strangers to the Professional Tryout market. Last season, they brought Danton Heinen into training camp, where he eventually earned a contract. Heinen scored 36 points in 74 games in his return to Boston last season. This summer, as a free agent, Danton signed a two-year, $4,450,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks. This deal worked out very well for both sides.
With the additions of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, the Bruins have strengthened their Defense and Center positions. However, Heinen and Jake DeBrusk’s departure has left the Bruins with a potential need for a winger. There is also the possibility that Bruins center Matthew Poitras may need some time in the American Hockey League, coming off a successful rookie season that unfortunately ended with a shoulder injury that required surgery.
I’ve already covered the possibility of Fabian Lysell being an option for the Bruins; however, here are ten available players who could be PTO options in September.
Alexander Barabanov: Left-Wing/Right-Wing
Barabanov, is a 5′-10″, 194-pound, left shooting forward who can play either side on the wing. He is only one year removed from a 47-point season with the San Jose Sharks. The 30-year-old started his NHL career in 2020, signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a Free Agent. He never found a spot in Toronto, ultimately being dealt to San Jose in exchange for Antti Suomela.
He succeeded in San Jose, scoring 39 points in his first entire season with the team before setting his career high in 2022-23. This past season, however, was a struggle for Barabanov, who scored only 13 points in 46 games. He reportedly had a trade with the New York Rangers that fell through by the deadline.
Barabanov may return to Russia, where he had success before his NHL career, winning two Gagarin Cups as a member of SKA St. Petersburg. He is also an intriguing, low-cost middle-six option for a contender or team needing veteran players.
Nick Cousins: Left-Wing/Center
Cousins would fit the bill of the Bruins’ recent trend of signing or trading for players they’ve feuded with in the past, such as Tyler Bertuzzi and Pat Maroon. He’d also fit in with the Bruins’s trend of targeting players who are physical and difficult to play against. Cousins registered 130 hits last season as a member of the Florida Panthers, helping them win their first Stanley Cup in Franchise history. Cousins would’ve been 7th on the Bruins in hits last season behind Trent Frederic, Jakub Lauko, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Morgan Geekie, and Charlie Coyle.
Cousins also won 53.1% of his Faceoffs last season. Although the sample size was only 32 faceoffs, this rate would have been third among the Bruins, behind only Pavel Zacha and Johnny Beecher.
Without DeBrusk and Heinen, if the Bruins need to insert Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, or Justin Brazeau higher in the lineup, they may need to find more depth on the fourth line. Cousins would be an excellent pickup in that situation.
Mike Hoffman: Left-Wing/Right-Wing
Hoffman has had one heck of a career up until this point. Drafted as an overager out of the QMJHL in the fifth round by the Ottawa Senators, Hoffman’s path to the NHL was long, even including a brief four-game ECHL stint with the Elmira Jackals, finally becoming a full-time NHL player in 2014, where he never looked back.
However, the now 34-year-old has been steadily declining since his career-high 36-goal, 70-point season in 2019 as a member of the Florida Panthers. He’s most recently coming off of a 23-point season with the Sharks.
Hoffman has always had an excellent shot, and in his prime, he was good for somewhere between 20 and 30 goals a year. The Bruins have been linked to this player, most recently in 2020, when he elected to sign with the St. Louis Blues. There’s no harm in seeing what Hoffman still has left in the tank on a PTO.
Tyler Johnson: Center
No matter what the odds are, some players find ways to succeed. Tyler Johnson is absolutely one of those players. Despite being one of the shortest players on the ice at 5′-8″, Johnson has succeeded at every level he’s played at. An 11th-round pick in the WHL Draft, he won a Memorial Cup in 2008 with the Spokane Chiefs, also helping Team USA win a Gold Medal at the 2010 World Junior Championship. Going undrafted, Johnson signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and helped their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, win a Calder Cup in 2012. He then assisted the Tampa Bay Lightning to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
By the time NHL training camps open in the fall, Johnson will be 34. He’s coming off a 31-point season with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he’s assisted other veterans like Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno in mentoring Chicago’s new wave of young talent, led by Connor Bedard and Kevin Korchinski.
Johnson would bring winning experience, something the Bruins sought to add with the addition of Pat Maroon at the past trade deadline. He’d also be an excellent short-term fit in the Bruins lineup if Matthew Poitras needs more time to recover from his shoulder injury.
Ondrej Kase: Right-Wing
Kase, the only former Bruin on this list, has struggled to stay healthy throughout his NHL career. Kase’s Bruins career ended after a challenging 2020-21 season where, due to injury, he only played three games. He was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Bruins and signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs the following summer, where Kase scored 27 points in 50 regular season games. He signed in Carolina the year after and only played one game for the Hurricanes before suffering a concussion, missing the rest of the season.
However, this past season, Kase spent back in his native Czechia, where he had 54 points in 48 games with HC Litvinov and helped Czechia win a Gold Medal at the World Championships alongside current Bruins David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. Kase is seeking a return to the NHL, and given his familiarity with both the city and his former teammates, Hampus Lindholm, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Max Jones, and Pavel Zacha, who are now on the Bruins roster, a return to Boston could make sense for both sides.
Dominik Kubalik: Left-Wing/Right-Wing
Kubalik’s career path has been unique. A 2013 seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings, Kubalik briefly came to North America to play in the OHL with the Sudbury Wolves and Kitchener Rangers before spending parts of six seasons playing for two different European teams. He returned to North America in 2019 with the Chicago Blackhawks and scored 30 goals in his rookie season, being named a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
Since then, Kubalik has bounced around a bit. He spent the next two seasons with the Blackhawks, scoring 38 and 32 points, before not being tendered a qualifying offer and signing as a UFA with the Detroit Red Wings. Kubalik bounced back with a 20-goal, 45-point campaign before being traded to the Ottawa Senators as part of the Alex DeBrincat trade.
This season was a struggle for the Plzen, Czechia native. He only had 15 points as a member of the Senators and was -30. However, Kubalik is only 28 and has shown flashes of being a solid middle-six forward. Boston could be a place that brings out the best in him.
Evgeni Kuznetsov: Center
Kuznetsov agreed to a mutual contract termination with the Carolina Hurricanes after being traded by the Washington Capitals at the deadline. It was widely believed that Kuznetsov did so to return home to Russia; however, his agent, Shumi Babayev, says that Kuznetsov has interest from 15 NHL teams and KHL teams SKA and Traktor Chelyabinsk.
Kuznetsov is a Stanley Cup Champion who has, for most of his career, averaged between 50 and 60 points. This season proved challenging for the 32-year-old, as Washington assigned him to the AHL’s Hershey Bears before ultimately trading him to Carolina.
The Bruins don’t have much left-handed Center depth, and Kuznetsov, a capable point producer, could help them offensively. However, Kuznetsov has struggled at the dot in his career, with a career average of 44.1% on draws. With virtually no risk involved on a PTO, there is nothing stopping the Bruins or any team from taking a closer look at Kuznetsov.
Kevin Labanc: Right-Wing/Left-Wing
The next 2023-24 San Jose Sharks member on my list is Kevin Labanc. Labanc is five years removed from his career-high 56-point season in 2019 when he helped the Sharks reach the Western Conference Final.
However, as the Sharks have declined, so has Labanc’s production. His 2023-24 season follows a common theme as Barabanov and Hoffman’s: a significant decline in production. Labanc had nine points in 47 games this year and has dealt with injuries for a long time.
Despite this, Labanc is still young at 28 and did well on the last few editions of the Joe Thornton-era Sharks teams. It could be worth a shot to see if a better-supporting cast allows Labanc to regain form.
Alexander Nylander: Right-Wing
If I had my pick of the players on this list, it would be Alexander Nylander. The son of former Bruin Michael Nylander has had a career full of ups and downs. He was selected eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2016, having had a strong draft year in the OHL with the Mississauga Steelheads. He only played 19 games for the Sabres before being shipped to Chicago for Henri Jokiharju. His first season in Chicago was promising, putting up 26 points in 65 games in 2019-20.
However, in the playoffs, Nylander suffered a serious knee injury, requiring surgery that caused him to miss the shortened 2020-21 season. When Nylander returned in 2021, he was assigned to the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL and eventually traded to the Penguins organization in exchange for Sam Lafferty. Nylander would only play 14 NHL games with the Penguins and was again traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Emil Bemstrom.
Columbus decided to insert Nylander into their lineup, and he repaid their confidence in him with 11 goals in 23 games to end the regular season, surpassing his career high in 42 fewer games. However, Columbus elected not to give Nylander a qualifying offer, making him a UFA. Nylander’s time in Columbus may have been nothing more than a stretch of high shooting percentage luck; however, given his reputation as a former top prospect, there is reason to believe he can still become a valuable NHL player.
Max Pacioretty: Left-Wing
Bruins fans will remember Pacioretty from his tenure as captain of the Montreal Canadiens. A gifted goal scorer, Pacioretty has five 30-plus goal seasons to his name, and if not for a lockout, injury, and the pandemic, he would likely have more.
Pacioretty is still available for two reasons: injury, having torn his Achilles twice in two seasons, and age. Pacioretty will turn 36 in November and is coming off a four-goal, 23-point season as a member of the Washington Capitals, having returned from his second Achilles injury in January.
At this phase in his career, Pacioretty may choose to retire. However, if he is still interested in chasing that elusive Stanley Cup, the only thing missing from an otherwise excellent career, Boston could be a good fit.
Filip Zadina: Right-Wing/Left-Wing
The tenth and final player on this list is fitting in that it ends with a Czech-born player who was also a member of the 2023-24 San Jose Sharks. Zadina, a native of Pardubice, was drafted sixth overall in 2018 by the Detroit Red Wings. At the time, many thought Zadina deserved to be selected even higher, having put together an excellent season in the QMJHL with the Halifax Mooseheads and helped Czechia make it to the Bronze Medal Game of the 2018 World Junior Championship with seven goals in seven games.
Zadina spent the next five seasons in the Red Wings organization, which eventually ended in a contract termination in the summer of 2023, which Zadina had encouraged. San Jose took a chance on Zadina, signing him to a one-year, $1,100,000 contract. Zadina’s bet on himself returned mixed results, as while he did set a career-high in goals with 13, he was also a -44, with the Sharks finishing last in the NHL.
The Bruins would provide an intriguing opportunity for Zadina. They have an open spot for a middle-six winger and a long history of great Czech players. The 2024-25 season may be Zadina’s last chance to realize his potential, and a PTO might be his only NHL option.
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