Former first round pick forced to take PTO to keep NHL career alive
Teams across the National Hockey League have been handing out several professional tryout contracts and one of the most active teams in that market is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Going into Saturday, the Penguins have signed three players to PTOs - forward Austin Wagner as well as defencemen Libor Hajek and Mark Pysyk, but have now added a former first-round pick to the fold.
According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, 2015 first-round pick Colin White has landed a professional tryout contract with the Penguins and will join them for training camp and preseason games later this month.
White, 26, was selected 21st overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2015 and went on to appear in 224 games for them across parts of six seasons. In July 2022, the Senators bought out the remaining three seasons of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Boston native wasn't a free agent for long last summer, as just over a week after being bought out, he signed a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers. In 68 games for the Panthers, White had 15 points (eight goals, seven assists), while adding two assists in 21 playoff games during their run to the Stanley Cup Final.
At the end of June, Panthers General Manager Bill Zito decided not to issue White a qualifying offer, which made him an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
| POLL | ||
Will Colin White earn a contract with the Penguins at the end of training camp? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 50.7 % |
| No | 33 | 49.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
