Last season, Brad Treliving made a shrewd move by bringing in Max Pacioretty on a Professional Tryout (PTO) before eventually signing him. While Pacioretty battled injuries, he was healthy when it mattered. He contributed during the postseason without costing the Maple Leafs any assets at the trade deadline.
Signing a Veteran PTO Is Low-Risk and Potentially High Reward
Signing a veteran to a PTO is low-risk, high-reward. Unlike a trade deadline acquisition, which usually costs the team valuable draft picks or prospects, a PTO requires no sacrifice. The team gets a close-up look at the player during training camp and preseason games. If the veteran doesn’t look NHL-ready? No harm, no commitment.
By contrast, trade deadline deals often involve inflated prices, especially for experienced playoff performers. Teams desperate to “go for it” pay premiums, and even then, there’s no guarantee the player will gel with the group or stay healthy. [For the Maple Leafs, Nick Foligno was such a player. He could never perform up to his own standards, and it cost the team prospects at the deadline.]
A Veteran PTO Helps the Coaching Staff Integrate the Player All Season
While the Maple Leafs might not always have a player they see as able to contribute, a PTO can be a wise choice if that player exists. It gives the coaching staff time to integrate the player into the system before the games count, something not always possible with mid-season additions.
For Treliving, finding another Pacioretty-type veteran—someone motivated to prove they still belong, without draining the prospect pool—could be one of the smartest plays of the offseason.
Additionally, although he wasn’t a veteran like Pacioretty, Steven Lorentz came in on a PTO and looks to be part of the Maple Leafs for the future. The question for the Maple Leafs is if there’s another player like these two around who the team could take a flyer on. If so, they could add to their roster cheaply as they did last season.
While there’s still space for trade deadline pieces, not every move has to be done then. That’s something for fans to watch out for in the offseason.
Related: What Does Treliving Mean by Maple Leafs’ DNA Change?
