CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Brian Boyle has been around this game long enough to understand that a professional tryout agreement comes with only one guarantee.
A chance.
There is no promise of a contract, let alone an NHL roster spot or significant playing time.
Just an opportunity to keep a career alive.
That's what the Penguins are giving Boyle, who is attending their training camp at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on a PTO. What he gives them in return over the next few weeks will determine whether he's still around when the regular season begins Oct. 12.
The offseason knee surgery that will force Evgeni Malkin to sit out at least the first two months of the regular season has to work in his favor, simply because it opens a spot at his position.
If he sticks with the Penguins, Boyle would fill a bottom-six role, so he wouldn't move directly into the vacancy created by Malkin's absence, but he is a center by trade and the Penguins certainly need help in the middle.
Especially with Sidney Crosby, who is recovering from wrist surgery, likely to miss at least a handful of early-season games.
The Penguins not only are in the market for centers, but for some size and physicaliy, and Boyle -- who is 6-foot-6, 245 pounds -- is capable of providing both.
Or at least he has been throughout his career.
Of course, at age 36 and having sat out last season, there's no way of knowing for sure how much muscle he still can offer. (The size part isn't in dispute. The man is quite large.)
Boyle also has a track record as a good faceoff man, having controlled more than half of his draws in 12 of his past 13 seasons. The Penguins ranked 21st in the league on faceoffs last season, winning just 49.3 percent.
"He's a guy who brings a certain skills set in areas that we can get better at," Mike Sullivan said. "He's a real good player. He's going to bring a lot of leadership to our team. He's a good pro. He always trains so hard, keeps himself in such great shape."
Sullivan has first-hand knowledge of Boyle's game -- or what it was earlier in his career, anyway -- because he was an assistant coach with the New York Rangers during part of Boyle's time in Manhattan.
The Penguins didn't rely on Sullivan's recollections of his time with Boyle before offering him a tryout, though.
Their scouts who watched him play for Team USA at the world championships earlier this year came away "very impressed with his game," Sullivan said.
A strong showing in that tournament was critical, since Boyle hadn't played since he was with Florida in 2019-20.
Sitting it out wasn't his choice, although he seemed to appreciate the chance to be around his son and daughter more than most winters. His performance validated his belief that he still could play at this level.
"I didn't think I was done," Boyle said. "Every night (during last season), I'd put on games and watch them and hope for another opportunity to play. My mind was still there, my body was still there."
The Penguins, it should be noted, are not treating Boyle like a typical tryout candidate.
He was given a sweater number, 11, that's common on NHL rosters, as opposed to one more often associated with an offensive lineman.
He has a spot in the main locker room, not one of those filled mostly with young guys and others likely to be playing elsewhere next month.
His linemates for drills and the Day 1 scrimmage Thursday were top prospect Sam Poulin and first-liner Bryan Rust.
None of that means Boyle should spend his free time in coming days shopping for a residence here, because he'll still have to overcome some steep odds to earn a contract.
Boyle has been around long enough to have some teammates who earned jobs on PTOs -- he cited Penguins alum Ruslan Fedotenko with the Penguins and Drew Stafford in New Jersey -- but also to realize that most players on tryouts end up with nothing more than a handshake and a T-shirt or two to show for their efforts.
If Boyle is to beat the long-shot odds guys on PTOs face, it will be on the strength of how he performs during actual competitions, not drills in practice.
"Intra-squad games, some of the exhibition games will be valuable for Brian, just because he hasn't played a lot of games over the last little while," Sullivan said.
Boyle has overcome far greater challenges -- hey, he beat leukemia in a winner-take-all showdown a few years ago -- so he isn't likely to be fazed by anything that confronts him during the next few weeks.
"It's a chance to get back in the league for me," he said. "On a good team."
A team he just might be able to make a little bit better.
