The Vancouver Canucks have agreed on tryout contracts with free agent wingers James Sheppard and Tuomo Ruutu, GM Jim Benning confirmed to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.
Sheppard spent last season with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss NLA, recording 11 goals and 24 assists with 67 PIMS in 37 games. He also represented Team Canada at the Spengler Cup back in December.
Originally a first round pick (ninth overall) of Minnesota back in 2006, Sheppard hasn’t had much in the way of NHL success so far. He has suited up for three different teams (the Wild, Sharks, and Rangers), last seeing NHL action in 2014-15. In 394 career games, he has 23 goals and 68 assists.
As for Ruutu, he has spent the last three years with the Devils but has seen his role decline sharply in that time. He played in just 33 games last year, recording only a single assist.
He has two 50+ point seasons in his 12 year NHL career with Chicago, Carolina, and New Jersey but he hasn’t hit 30 points in four years. In 735 NHL games, the ninth overall pick back in 2001 has 148 goals and 198 assists.
Both players will likely contend for a fourth line/reserve spot with the Canucks.
Another player receiving interest for a PTO is left winger Tomas Fleischmann. His agent, Rich Evans, was on News 1130 in Vancouver and reported that eight teams have expressed an interest in bringing in the 32 year old to training camp. He declined to confirm or deny if Vancouver is among those eight teams.
Fleischmann is no stranger to this situation as he attended Montreal’s training camp on an invite last year, eventually earning a one year, $750K contract. He got off to a strong start with the Canadiens but tapered off and was eventually dealt before the deadline to Chicago where he collected five points in 19 games.
Fleischmann has 657 games of NHL experience under his belt with Washington, Colorado, Florida, Anaheim, Montreal, and Chicago, recording 137 goals and 198 assists but hasn’t hit the 30 point plateau since 2012-13.
It’s likely to be a busy week for tryout deals with training camps kicking off next week. Keep track of who is trying out where with our Invite Tracker.
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