Eric Gryba, who has played in close to 300 NHL games over his career, may be done in the league. The defenseman had been attending the Calgary Flames training camp on a professional tryout (PTO), but has now been released.
Gryba was drafted in the third round (68th overall) by the Ottawa Senators in 2006. After spending most of four seasons in the AHL with Binghamton, Gryba finally got called up to the NHL, and spent three seasons with the Sens before being traded to Edmonton in June of 2015. He was later bought out by Edmonton in a cap-clearing move.
In 2018, he signed a one-year deal with New Jersey, but spent much of last season in the minors. His PTO seemed like a last gasp for the 31-year-old to cling to an NHL deal. There's no word on his plans now that he's been released. It was noted in an article in the Edmonton Sun in June of 2018 that the game had passed him by.
"The game has passed Gryba by. He is not quick enough of foot or skilled enough in head-manning the puck to hold down a regular NHL spot any more. A good soldier, that's just the way it is."
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