Bruins Reportedly Considering Signing 2 Forwards To PTOs

The offseason is starting to wind down and players who haven't been signed are looking for opportunities on PTOs. The Boston Bruins appear like a team that is set to take advantage of this again as Danton Heinen's PTO worked out very well for them last season.

There are two very interesting players reportedly being considered for PTOs, veteran Blake Wheeler and former first-round pick Kailer Yamamoto.

Wheeler is a former captain who was injured a portion of last season, but was able to come back in the playoffs for the Rangers. He is not a top-6 player anymore, but he can surely still be productive in the bottom-6 of the Bruins. He scored nine goals and 21 points in 54 games while logging under 13 minutes of ice time per game, but when he was a top-6 forward the season prior, scored 16 goals and 55 points in 72 games. Not only is he going to come very cheap for what he could potentially bring, his veteran leadership would be welcomed on a team that is trying to win the Stanley Cup. It would be a return to his roots for Wheeler.

Yamamoto is younger and has shown the ability to produce at the NHL level. He played top-6 minutes on the wing for four straight seasons in Edmonton, his best being his 20-goal, 41-point season in 2021-22. He moved to a bottom-6 role with the Seattle Kraken last season and was more in and out of the lineup. He is tenacious despite his size and wouldn't be a bad option for the fourth line to play the majority of the games or take a backseat if the younger players are performing.

There is no harm in signing players to PTO, especially Wheeler and Yamamoto who both bring different elements that could potentially help the Bruins if signed to a contract.