Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said earlier this week that he still had one professional tryout (PTO) offer out to a player that he was waiting to hear back from.
Now we know the player, and apparently he's accepted the offer. TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Friday that it "sounds like" veteran defenseman Anton Stralman is heading to Bruins training camp on a PTO.
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The 36-year-old Stralman spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes, playing 74 games with 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) and a minus-16 plus/minus while averaging 21:20 per game.
In his prime, Stralman was one of the most underrated defensemen in the NHL, and he finished top-20 in Norris Trophy voting in 2015 and 2016 while he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, his game has definitely dipped in recent years, and it's safe to say he wouldn't have gotten so many minutes last season on a team better than Arizona.
That said, the Bruins are bringing him in with virtually no expectations, so anything he can give them would be a bonus. At the very least, he gives them another right-shot D to consider.
Until Charlie McAvoy comes back, Boston's only two regular defensemen who are right shots are Brandon Carlo and Connor Clifton. Jakub Zboril has been playing on the right side during the team's first two practices, and coach Jim Montgomery said Mike Reilly might get a look on the right at some point as well.
Montgomery said Friday afternoon that he could not confirm the addition of Stralman yet, but that the team was hopeful of adding a player on a PTO.
It's unclear when Stralman would join the Bruins on the ice for practice, but it could be over the weekend or early next week.
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