Andrew MacDonald to attend Flames’ training camp on PTO

The Calgary Flames announced today that Andrew MacDonald, fresh off of being bought out this summer by the Philadelphia Flyers, will be joining training camp on a professional try-out agreement.

MacDonald, a veteran with 586 games played in the NHL, is the first player announced to be joining camp on a PTO. The left-handed defender spent the last five and a half years with the Flyers since he was traded there from the New York Islanders in the 2013-14 season.

It’ll be interesting to see what MacDonald brings to the table, given the abundance of left-handed defensemen in the Flames’ system. He’s known for being a defensive defenceman, scoring only 28 goals during his 11 years in the league.

While it’s too early to tell if he’s destined to be more than a body in training camp, GM Brad Treliving has been known to be impressed by his PTOs. The Flames have signed a handful of players from PTOs in recent years, with Raphael Diaz, Tanner Glass, and Nicklas Grossmann joining the team from their respective PTOs. They also signed Kris Versteeg from a PTO with Edmonton.