Tampa Bay Lightning Alum Teddy Purcell gets PTO with the Boston Bruins
Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Teddy Purcell has been presented with an opportunity to make a fresh start in the National Hockey League.
It is a much-known fact nothing is certain in the National Hockey League. Each season brings the winds of change to the 31 teams in the league. Players come and players go. This is just a part of the business aspect of the game. The Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans are no stranger to this fact.
Early last week, news hit the Twitterverse that former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Malone had received a PTO (Professional Tryout) with the Minnesota Wild. After everything Malone has been through on and off the ice, this could very well be the opportunity he needs to get back on the right track.
Despite what the old saying says, it appears Lightning does, in fact, strike twice. Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced late this afternoon via the Bruins twitter page former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Teddy Purcell has been extended a PTO with the team.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Much like Lightning forwards Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat are referred to as partners-in-crime, the same thing can be said about Teddy Purcell and Ryan Malone. It seems like a bit of pleasant bit of irony they are both getting an opportunity at a fresh start at the same time.
Teddy Purcell began his NHL career as a member of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007-08 season, where he would play a total of 10 games. In this amount of time, Purcell would score a goal and two assists for a total of three points.
The very next season, Purcell would increase his production exponentially, but it simply wasn’t enough to impress the Los Angeles Kings. After playing 41 games with the Kings in the 2009-10 season, Purcell would find himself with a one-way ticket to the Sunshine State where he would become a member of the Lightning.
The next season, Teddy Purcell seemed like an entirely different player. In the 2010-11 season, Purcell would play a full season with the Lightning. Over the course of the season, Purcell would score 17 goals and 34 assists for a total of 51 points.
Just one season later, Purcell would have a career-high season in every sense of the word. In the 81 games he played with the Bolts in the 2011-12 season, Teddy Purcell would score 24 goals and 41 assists for a total of 65 points along with a plus-9 rating. Unfortunately, this seemed to mark the beginning of the end for Purcell.
On June 29, 2014, Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman elected to trade Teddy Purcell to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Sam Gagner.
As a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Purcell would continue his production level from the previous two seasons. While his numbers were middle of the road, they simply weren’t enough to garner him a continued place on the Oilers roster. On February 27, 2016, the Edmonton Oilers would trade Purcell to the Lightning’s in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers, in exchange for a third-round draft pick.
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After playing a mere 15 games with the Panthers in the 2015-16 season, Purcell (who was now a Free Agent) elected to sign a one-year deal with the team who gave him his first opportunity in the National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Kings.
Teddy Purcell would play 12 games with the Kings in the 2016-17 season. Instead, he would spend most of his time with the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. In the 38 games he would play with the Reign, Purcell would score 10 goals and 28 assists for a total of 38 points.
This brings us to where we are now. After spending one season with the Kings, Teddy Purcell is now a Free Agent, which opened the door for him to explore his options with other teams in the NHL. While a PTO is never a guaranteed ride to the team’s roster, it is definitely an open door which leads to opportunity.
The Bruins have quite a few aging veterans on their team, which means the Bruins will have to do something to balance out their roster. At 32 years old, Purcell still has a fair amount of time left in his career to be a valuable investment for the team.
Next: Ryan Malone Gets PTO with the Minnesota Wild
At this point, there is no telling what the future holds for Teddy Purcell, but earning himself a PTO with the Boston Bruins is definitely a step in the right direction. If Purcell can make the most of his opportunity, he will be presented with another chance to make a difference in the National Hockey League.