September 21: The Oilers officially confirmed the PTO via their Twitter account.
September 20: Eric Gryba’s time with the Edmonton Oilers isn’t up just yet. The unrestricted free agent defenseman has agreed to attend their training camp on a PTO deal, reports TSN’s Ryan Rishaug.
Gryba was acquired by the Oilers back in June of 2015 from the Senators. He played in 53 games with Edmonton last season, recording a goal and five assists with 75 penalty minutes. Gryba also logged 17:53 of ice time per night, his highest average since his rookie season. For his career, he has played in 218 games with Edmonton and Ottawa, scoring five goals while adding 30 assists and 262 PIMS.
Last month, Gryba noted that he had tryout offers from three different teams but was still hoping to get an offer from the Oilers. He earned $1.3MM in salary last season and presumably will have to take a pay cut if he earns a guaranteed deal after training camp.
Gryba may have a harder time landing a spot on their roster compared to last year. The team acquired Adam Larsson from New Jersey back in June while youngsters such as Brandon Davidson, Darnell Nurse, and Griffin Reinhart are all expected to push for bigger roles this season. What will work in Gryba’s favor is that he is a right shooting blueliner, something the Oilers are lacking beyond Larsson and veteran Mark Fayne.
[Related: Oilers Depth Chart]
Over 30 NHL veterans have already taken tryout deals and there are more expected in the days ahead. Keep track of who is trying out where with our Invite Tracker.