The Montreal Canadiens are taking a flyer on Simon Desprès who has aspirations to play in the NHL once again, but can he do it with his hometown team?

The Montreal Canadiens got the professional tryout (PTO) game started on Thursday with Simon Despres. As the offseason continues, more players will most likely be added to that list ahead of training camp.

Eric Gelinas was one of the more intriguing PTOs at camp ahead of last season. However, he didn’t stand out enough to earn a contract for the following NHL campaign. Gelinas instead received an AHL contract playing 54 games with the Laval Rocket.

The most impactful PTO in recent memory is probably Tomas Fleischmann. The Montreal Canadiens took a chance on the veteran ahead of the 2015-16 season and signed him to a one-year deal after a solid performance at camp. His 3 assists in 4 preseason games earned him a $750,000 AAV and a regular spot in the bottom nine.

Fleischmann went on to play 57 games with the Habs scoring 10 goals and 10 assists. He was also a go-to option on the penalty kill and an eventual part of the package sent to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Phillip Danault.

The Habs haven’t been able to find a tryout to step into the lineup and perform since then, but perhaps Desprès changes that. The 26-year-old has already begun his training for the summer in Laval.

Simon Després s’entraîne à Laval ce matin. Il sera au camp d’entraînement des Canadiens cet automne. Simon Després is hard at work this morning in Laval. He’ll be at training camp in the fall. #GoHabsGo 💪 pic.twitter.com/u9Xnd1rs03 — Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 12, 2018

Getting his body is one thing, but the question will be whether he can step back onto an NHL roster and compete.