The Pittsburgh Penguins have given former Vancouver Canucks enforcer Tom Sestito a professional tryout contract (PTO) to attend Penguins camp and vie for a roster spot with the club, the team announced on Wednesday.
Sestito had a tumultuous 2014-15 season, frequently being in the news as a player the Vancouver Canucks were openly shopping to other teams, meanwhile he wasn’t getting any playing time with the Canucks.
Sestito played just three NHL games last season, down from 77 the season before. It’s the fewest games the soon-to-be 28-year-old has played since his 22-year-old season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Unfortunately for Sestito, the Canucks didn’t have a home for him in the AHL either and he spent much of the season as a healthy scratch (when healthy). He played just 10 games for the Utica Comets in the AHL.
Part of the decline in demand for his services is the shifting nature of the game and that many enforcers were found without a job last season. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound Sestito isn’t known for his soft hands entering the zone. He’s played a total of 137 NHL games, putting up 10 goals and eight assists with 432 penalty minutes and a career average of 6:40 of ice time per game.
The #Pens have signed forward Tom Sestito to a professional tryout contract. Details: http://t.co/pKcU75nLER pic.twitter.com/57EDSZfQJ5
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 26, 2015
Sestito will join Sergei Gonchar as the two players currently slated to be on PTOs when Penguins camp opens in September.
Lots of familiar names are taking PTOs this season. Keep up with all the tryout contracts with The Hockey Writers’ 2015 PTO Tracker.