Handing Out Camp Invites (Sep 9)

The early announcement of the day on Wednesday was that the Toronto Maple Leafs agreed to have unrestricted free agent forward, Curtis Glencross, join the team at training camp on an invite basis.

Last season, Glencross split time between the Flames and Capitals, playing in 71 games and picking up 35 points, making the move between at the trade deadline.  The veteran forward wasn't in the Flames' long-term future and the return was good enough to be moved, while they were on the playoff run, so off he went.

The Leafs have a few debatable spots to compete for, which gives Glencross a decent opportunity to find another job at the NHL level.  At 32 years old, you would assume that he has some legs left in his game and could provide a good spark to another rebuilding club, like Toronto.

If I was to offer a projection, if he decided to sign with the Leafs, I would be circling the neighbourhood of about 25 points.

The New York Islanders made an announcement of their own, later on in the afternoon, as they said that they have agreed to bring in forward Steve Bernier in as a camp invite.

Bernier, 30, split time between the NHL and the AHL in the New Jersey Devils, playing in 67 games with the big club, registering 32 points in the process.  Under new management, the Devils were looking to get younger and that pushed Bernier out of contention for a spot on the roster.

The Islanders are not short on competition for spots in their bottom six and Bernier will fit right into that mix as well.

How about one more invite? This is a busy day, by blog standards, in the first part of September.  The Florida Panthers invited a former employee back for training camp, as forward David Booth accepted their offer and don their colours again for a couple weeks, at least.

Booth played for the Panthers between 2007 and 2011, before moving on to Vancouver and Toronto, last playing for the Leafs last season, playing in 59 games and picking up 13 points.  He was quite a ways from being pool worthy, but maybe a return to where it all began will give him a boost.

By my count, the Panthers are rolling a bit slim into training camp and have lots of room for a guy like Booth, especially, if he comes in at a $1 million salary (or less).  Then they have tons of room and taking very little risk.