Over 40 hockey players entered NHL training camps on tryout contracts, via General Fanager’s PTO list, ranging from the grizzliest of veterans (Sergei Gonchar: 1,301 NHL games) to the greenest of youngsters (Ryan Martindale: 0 NHL games). As the regular season approaches, teams are cutting their rosters down, leaving a handful of careers in limbo.

Some brought in on PTOs were in camps to help teams reach the veteran minimum for preseason games. They are basically lottery tickets. If they don’t play well, it’s an easy split. If they surprise and are able to earn a contract, it’s found gold.

The abundance of players on tryouts this preseason is also a case of some players misjudging the free agent market and teams nearly capped out looking for cheaper solutions to fill their lineup. Curtis Glencross probably thought he played well enough with the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals last season to earn a new deal in the summer, but his phone stayed silent until the Toronto Maple Leafs offered him PTO, along with fellow veterans Devin Setoguchi and Brad Boyes.

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Of those three Leafs on PTOs, only Boyes played himself into a contract. Setoguchi remains on the market, while Glencross signed a tryout deal with the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

In Florida, GM Dale Tallon reunited with Martin Havlat, who were together with the Chicago Blackhawks, and brought back David Booth, who played the first five and a half seasons of his NHL career with the Panthers. While it sounds like only one will make the roster, the two veterans have provided added competition, which could help further along the development of some of the team’s youth.

"We talked about giving our kids a chance, but we don't also want to make them feel like they'll be given a job," Tallon told Steve Whyno of the Canadian Press last week. "It's just a good look at a couple quality players that might make our team or might force our younger guys or other guys to compete harder for jobs.”

The 2015-16 season begins in eight days and opening day rosters must be set by 6 p.m. ET on Oct. 6. Tough decisions are yet to be made and some careers are currently hanging in the balance.

Here are some notable names who went to training camp on a PTO and where they currently stand:

Earned a contract

Brad Boyes, one-year, $700,000 with Toronto; Mark Fraser, one-year, $800,000 with Ottawa after being cut from a PTO with Toronto; Michal Rozsival, one-year, $600,000 deal with Chicago.

Still hanging around

Glencross, Gonchar, Jonas Gustavsson, Scott Gomez, Martin Havlat, David Booth, Derek Roy, Patrick Kaleta, Peter Budaj, Lee Stempniak, Tyler Kennedy, Tomas Fleischmann, Scottie Upshall, Andrej Meszaros, Jack Skille, Ryan Wilson, Kyle Cumiskey

Cut

Setoguchi, Daniel Paille, Patrick Dwyer, Douglas Murray, Jan Hejda, Lubomir Visnovsky, Tomas Kopecky, James Sheppard, Ray Emery, Vitaly Vishnevski, Sheldon Brookbank

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