Pumpkin spice lattes have hit the shelves of coffee shops, and professional tryouts have hit the signing tables of players looking for another shot in the National Hockey League.

So far, three players have inked such deals with teams, according to PuckPedia’s PTO tracker: goaltender Cal Petersen with the Washington Capitals, forward Alex Nylander with the Calgary Flames, and goaltender Chris Driedger with the Vancouver Canucks.

Petersen, 31, joins the Capitals after backstopping the Minnesota Wild’s AHL team in Iowa last season. He posted a 13-16-2 record, an .896 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average. He’ll provide support behind NHLers Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren, and a good performance could earn him a minor-league contract with the team, as Clay Stevenson and Mitchell Gibson, both 27, are the only two other signed goaltenders for the Caps.

Nylander, 28, has found himself in search of a new home, once again, after two strong seasons in the AHL for the Toronto Marlies. He’s scored 47 goals and 97 points in 129 games for the Marlies, putting up two of the best AHL seasons in his career. During a 23-game stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023-24, he scored 11 goals and 15 points in 23 games, but has otherwise struggled during NHL stints in recent years. The Flames sit at just 40 contracts, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see a good camp parlayed into a contract.

Driedger, 32, could help provide some depth to the Canucks’ crease. CHEK News’ Rick Dhaliwal reported Thursday that goaltender Thatcher Demko underwent surgery on both hips last January, and that the team isn’t looking to rush him back anytime soon. That sets up Kevin Lankinen for another big season, and while Aleksei Medvedev is an interesting prospect, he’s still just that at 18-years-old. The team also has Ty Young, Aku Koskenvuo, and Nikita Tolopilo under contract, with the latter having an unsuccessful NHL stint last season. Driedger spent last season in the KHL, where for Traktor Chelyabinsk, he posted an 8-9-2 record, a .872 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average.

Last year, 25 players joined NHL teams on professional tryouts, with seven landing NHL contracts, according to PuckPedia.

The Edmonton Oilers are a team that could look to dabble in the PTO market in the wake of injuries to Matt Savoie and Frederik Andersen that will reportedly keep them out until late October. Earlier this month, our own Tyler Yaremchuk looked at a few options the Oilers could bring to camp.

Zach Laing is Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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