It has been a tough year to be a free agent in the National Hockey League and no players have taken a bigger beating than the unrestricted free agents that would be classified as borderline NHLers. Normally these type of players could expect a short term deal for one team or another looking to plug a hole in their line up but, with the financial constraints caused by the pandemic, many of those players have now been forced to agree to professional tryout offers or PTOs.
The latest example comes courtesy of 27 year old NHL veteran Brett Ritchie who has reportedly just agreed to a PTO, presumably after failing to secure an NHL contract for the upcoming season. The news comes from Calgary's own Darren Haynes who reports on Saturday that Ritchie and the Calgary Flames have come to terms on a PTO, which means that Ritchie will now join the Flames at training camp.
The Flames have also sent Justin Kirkland down to the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League, and it seems likely that this is the way that things will remain for the time being.
Ritchie is coming off a tough season with the Boston Bruins, one in which he made only 27 NHL appearances. During that time he recorded 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points, but was also a plus minus of -3 on the season. The Bruins sent Ritchie down to the American Hockey League during the season as well, and there he played in 12 games where he recorded 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points.
As I stated earlier I suspect that Ritchie has agreed to this PTO because it was the best offer he was going to get, but that is only speculation on my part at this time and there are in fact other reasons why he could have chosen this path. Ritchie is Canadian born, he's from Orangeville, Ontario, and with the reality of the league being split on either side of the border this season it may have been his preference to play in Canada. Crossing the border during the NHL season would be nearly impossible, at least not without missing significant time, but playing for the Flames will allow him to travel to Ontario and visit family with considerably less headaches involved.
