With NHL training camps set to start later this month, a lot of unsigned free agents are going to be looking for last-minute jobs. Teams will bring players to camp on PTOs, and they’ll try to earn contracts and roster spots during the pre-season.

Over the weekend, we looked at potential forwards, defencemen, and goaltenders that the Edmonton Oilers could potentially invite to training camp on a PTO. Today, let’s look back at some players who showed up to training camp without a contract and earned one.

The Oilers acquired rugged defender Eric Gryba from the Ottawa Senators in July 2015 to add sandpaper to the blueline.

He played 53 games in 2015–16, scoring one goal and six points. There was not much interest in him that summer. Even the Oilers passed at the start of free agency, then invited him on a PTO. After the pre-season, he signed a one-year deal and put up two goals and six points in 40 games.

Gryba played 21 more games in 2017-18, was waived during the season, and bought out in the off-season. He finished with 10 games for the New Jersey Devils and retired after 2018-19.

In 2016, the Oilers brought in two-time Stanley Cup champion Kris Versteeg on a PTO. The Lethbridge, Alberta, native had scored 15 goals and 38 points the previous season. He had a strong camp, then used the leverage to sign with the provincial rival Calgary Flames.

The Oilers made the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06 in 2016-17, while Versteeg posted 15 goals and 37 points in 69 games for the Flames. He added three goals and eight points in 24 games the following season, his last in the NHL. Not bad for a PTO.

Chiasson signed a PTO shortly before 2018-19 and became one of the best PTO success stories anywhere. He earned a one-year deal nearly a month later and exploded for a career-high 22 goals and 38 points in 73 games. That turned into a two-year contract on July 1, 2019.

Production dipped to 11 goals and 24 points in 65 games in 2019–20, then nine goals and 16 points in 45 games in 2020–21, his final year in Edmonton. He scored 13 goals in 67 games with Vancouver in 2021–22, then six goals and nine points in 20 games with Detroit in 2022–23. The best way to describe his Oilers run is Zach Hyman lite.

Also before 2018-19, veteran defenceman Jason Garrison signed in Edmonton following a PTO. He was well past his prime but scored once in 17 games.

The Oilers moved the veteran defender, along with winger Drake Caggiula, to the Blackhawks in December of that season in exchange for Brandon Manning. He never suited up for Chicago and finished the season playing in Sweden.

Ahead of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, the Oilers signed Devin Shore to a PTO that became a one-year deal. He scored five goals and nine points in 38 games, plus an assist in two playoff games.

He earned a two-year extension in 2021. He followed with five goals and 11 points in 49 games, then one goal and nine points in 47 games in 2022–23. Shore moved on to Seattle in 2023–24 and had one goal and four points in 21 games. He played 55 games with Minnesota last season and posted one goal and five points.

In June, he signed with HC Sparta Praha in Czechia.

Colton Sceviour joined the Oilers on a PTO ahead of the 2021-22 season and earned a spot with the team with a one-year contract. He scored two goals and five points over 35 games before being placed on waivers. After wrapping up the year in the AHL, Sceviour finished his playing career overseas in Switzerland.

By the time Demers arrived on a PTO in 2022-23, he was nearing the end of his career. He was released before the season, stuck on 699 NHL games. Bakersfield signed him to a PTO, then a contract, and he logged 18 assists in 57 games for the Condors. He also got one game with the Oilers to reach 700.

Sam Gagner’s three Oilers stints feel like they might someday become four. He was drafted sixth overall in 2007, re-acquired in 2019, then signed a PTO before 2023-24.

Fresh off double hip surgery, he joined Bakersfield, then signed a one-year NHL deal. He returned for a home game when the Oilers were 2-5-1. Down 4-1 to Dallas with under 10 minutes left, Gagner scored his first Oilers goal since 2019-20, then added another 3:01 later to make it 4-3. No hat trick, but a great moment.

He finished with five goals and 10 points in 28 games. He later signed a PTO with Carolina for 2024-25 but was released, then posted 10 assists in 19 games with AHL Belleville. He captained Canada at the Spengler Cup, recorded one assist in three games, retired in May, and joined Ottawa’s front office. Maybe the fourth stint for this fan favourite is in management.

The last two seasons were long ones, so not every depth player sticks in memory. Adam Erne signed a PTO that became a one-year deal. He played six of the first eight games, was sent down, then returned and was penalized for an illegal check to the head of Pierre-Édouard Bellemare.

His most notable moment was an insurance goal against New Jersey on December 21. It was his only goal of the season, and it kicked off the Oilers’ 16-game win streak that launched them into the playoffs and eventually the Final. It may be his last NHL goal, and Gagner got the assist, which may have been his final assist.

The most recent PTO to become a contract was Travis Dermott. He signed a one-year deal, played the first three games and was minus three, then seven more before Minnesota claimed him on waivers.

He played nine games for the Wild, was waived again, and the Oilers claimed him back. He finished with three AHL games in April and is currently an unrestricted free agent.