The Boston Bruins are reportedly considering offering Professional Tryout Contracts (PTOs) to forwards Blake Wheeler and Kailer Yamamoto, as per Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period. Wheeler played the 2023-24 season with the New York Rangers, helping them reach the Eastern Conference Final. Yamamoto, on the other hand, spent the past season with his hometown Seattle Kraken.
Wheeler started his NHL career with the Boston Bruins after being drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes as the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. After not signing with Phoenix, Wheeler joined Boston, where he scored 50 goals and 110 assists in 210 games over two and a half seasons before being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers. He spent 13 seasons with the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise, playing nearly 900 games, before signing with the Rangers as a free agent.
Yamamoto was selected 22nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2017 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut in the 2017-18 season, playing in nine games. His best season came in 2021-22 when he recorded 20 goals and 21 assists in 81 games for Edmonton. After being traded to the Detroit Red Wings during the 2023 NHL Draft, Yamamoto was bought out by Detroit and subsequently signed a one-year deal with the Kraken, where he tallied eight goals and 16 points in 59 games.
The Bruins have a history of successfully signing players on PTO deals, as they did with forward Danton Heinen last season, who went on to score 17 goals in a strong return to Boston.
