This summer featured a rather tame free agent market, leaving several NHL regulars out of work deep into August and some even into September. One avenue to break back into the league is through a professional tryout (PTO) agreement, which offers players a non-binding route to attend training camp, see action in preseason games and hopefully perform well enough to earn a spot.
Unrestricted free agent James Sheppard hopes to do exactly that with the Blue Jackets.
