Brad Boyes and Curtis Glencross are in the same situation.
Yet, at the same time, in very different situations.
Boyes, for the second time in three seasons, is trying to go to an NHL training camp on a tryout basis and earn a contract, this time with the Maple Leafs, the team that once made him a first round draft pick.
"This isn’t Florida, is it?" he chuckled as he stepped into the lights to address an awaiting media mob today on the opening day of camp.
He’s a local lad, and coming home has opened his eyes to the value of playing at home, at being able to take his child to kindergarten last week. He smiles at the memory. At 33, there are clear benefits despite the uncertainty.
"I’m approaching this as earning a spot. They’ve got 50 contracts so it won’t be easy," said Boyes.
Glencross, 32, is also at Leaf camp on a PTO, same as Boyes. But his wife and three youngsters, all under the age of four, are back home in Calgary, awaiting news of where dad is going to work this season. There’s no happiness on the domestic front, not yet. The uncertainty is just plain uncertainty.
Today, Glencross had a bit of a bewildered look, probably as he looked forward to getting his business done so he could FaceTime the family he’s desperately missing, but also because he’s got to wonder how he went from being a hot trade deadline commodity last March to being a man without a contract this fall.
"I’ve never been in this situation before," said Glencross, who until last year looked to be a set piece in the Calgary organization moving forward. "But the market this year was completely different than any other year. I was definitely shocked not to get a contract, and it was stressful, both on me, and I have a young family.
"I’d like to be in a better situation, but this is where I am. Toronto is a chance to come in, be an impact player, get a role, and move forward."
Devin Setoguchi, the former Sharks sniper, is also in Leaf camp on a tryout, making this the NHL’s most notable Camp of Last Opportunities. The uncertainty for these players was accentuated further on Thursday when the Leafs made a trade to bring in another veteran forward, speedy Michael Grabner, from the Islanders. Taylor Beck was acquired over the summer from Nashville, did interviews this morning wearing a Leaf jersey and was Brooklyn-bound by the afternoon, along with four other Leaf prospects.
That’s a fluid situation. That’s a hotly competitive one, too, and not all these tryouts are likely to make it. The Leafs were a complete disaster last season from Christmas on, and while the organization tries to rebuild with youth, there are jobs and contracts available now. Setoguchi, Boyes, Glencross and Grabner have all been good scorers in the NHL, and the Leafs are surely looking for goals with Phil Kessel traded away to Pittsburgh.
Setoguchi’s situation is complicated by the fact he’s been through the NHL’s substance abuse program and is still being tested twice a week as he tries to rebuild his career and reputation.
"This is the best I’ve felt, as clear-headed as I’ve felt in four or five years," he said. "Would I be in this situation had I treated myself better? Who knows? I caught it, luckily, I’m still only 28.
"I’ve thought about whether this is my last chance. It’ll be tough to come back if this doesn’t work out. It’s going to be tough if I don’t perform the way I’d like this year. So exhibition games aren’t really exhibitions for the three of us. It’s go time."
For Boyes, while it’s another tryout situation like he had with the Panthers back in 2013, he says he’s looking at it very differently.
"When I went through this in Florida, I was bitter, and wondering why I didn’t have a job. I went in wondering why nobody wanted me, with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder," he said. "It wasn’t the right mindset. I ended up getting a spot, but I don’t think I played all that well.
"Here, I’m just thinking about earning a spot. It’s not the old days, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. You’ve got to earn what you get."
Boyes is different from Glencross and Setoguchi in that he has a past with the Leafs. He was drafted 24th overall by Toronto in 2000, but then traded to San Jose two years later in the deal that made Owen Nolan a Leaf as Toronto desperately tried to cling to playoff contender status.
Does that give him a leg up for a job? He doubts. it.
"In my family’s eyes, in my friends eyes, maybe. But it’s a different regime, and it doesn’t really matter what’s happened in the past. People remember the trade, but it’s not going to affect what management thinks now," he says.
Seeing players hungrily chasing jobs may please those fans sick of complacent athletes with guaranteed contracts and massive signing bonuses that keep them in jobs even when they don’t deserve them. But even with other veterans like Martin Havlat, Lubomir Visnovsky, Derek Roy and David Booth also on PTOs this fall with other teams, these players are still in the minority, and it’s still uncomfortable, to say the least.
"I know I can still play," said Boyes, echoing how Glencross and Setoguchi also feel. "I just have to prove that over the next couple of weeks so they see a fit."
