PTO options are looking especially horrible this year. You can make a case that there are no NHL players left.
I'd rather keep a spot open for the young players to fight over throughout the year (I.e. Robertson, Grebyonkin, Steeves, Minten, etc).
Well a PTO doesn't guarantee anything so I like the idea of bringing in some guys who can push the younger guys harder in camp. And in this case it's the young wingers vying for a spot.
I'd like to bring in a centre too but there just aren't any with top 9 upside for PTO.
Where the Leafs are lacking is depth goal scoring .. and while you hope some of the youngsters will step up, getting some other guys with goal scoring upside as competition is where I'd look.
- Hoffman, who is 34, might be worthwhile to see if he has anything in the tank
- Zadina, give him a chance as a maybe a later bloomer with some offensive upside
- Kubalik, maybe a change of scenery from a badly run Ottawa organization
- Pacioretty and JVR are probably cooked and lack the foot speed but those could be options