Earlier this week, the Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Jack Johnson to a professional tryout (PTO) agreement. Now that we are in the middle of August, we should only continue to see more teams invite remaining unrestricted free agents (UFAs) to their training camps on PTOs.
The Boston Bruins could very well be among the NHL clubs that add at least one player on a PTO before training camp gets here.
When looking at the Bruins' current roster, one area that could use more depth is the right side of their defense. With this, one blueliner who could make sense for the Bruins to take a look at on a PTO is Jan Rutta.
Rutta is arguably the top right-shot defenseman still available for the taking in free agency, and he would be an interesting player for the Bruins to have at training camp to create more competition. The 35-year-old has been a steady defensive defenseman throughout his eight-year NHL career and could be a nice pickup for the Bruins if he managed to earn a contract for the season through a PTO.
If the Bruins signed Rutta for the season, he would offer them another option to consider for their bottom pairing and penalty kill. However, even if he was used as an extra defenseman for Boston, the two-time Stanley Cup winner would be a decent player to have around when injuries occur.
In 54 games this past season with the San Jose Sharks, Rutta posted three goals, nine points, and 81 blocks. In 417 career NHL games split between the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Sharks, he has recorded 23 goals, 75 assists, 98 points, and a plus-25 rating.
2 Bruins Named Potential Targets For Oilers
In a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6545298/2025/08/11/oilers-roster-waiver-wire-trade-targets/">recent article for The Athletic</a>, Allan Mitchell discussed five potential targets for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers">Edmonton Oilers</a>. Interestingly, two <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins">Boston Bruins</a> made Mitchell's list.