Oilers invite Chris Kelly to training camp on a PTO

According to John Shannon, the Oilers have invited veteran pivot Chris Kelly to training camp on a professional tryout.

Kelly spent last season with the Ottawa Senators, appearing in all 81 games as the team’s fourth line centre. He chipped in with five goals and seven assists while averaging just under 12 minutes of ice time per game, but posted some of the worst possession numbers on the team.

General manager Peter Chiarelli is certainly familiar with Kelly. Back during the Bruins’ glory days, Kelly played a key role as a very effective two-way, middle-six forward. He was a member of the Bruins Stanley Cup winning team in 2011 and the Ottawa Senators team that reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2007.

Obviously there’s never any risk in having a player around at training camp on a tryout, but it’s difficult to see the 36-year-old Kelly cracking Edmonton’s roster. That said, if somebody like Mark Letestu were to suffer an injury in the pre-season, it’s good insurance to have a veteran like Kelly around to possibly fill in the role.