What you need to know about professional tryouts

ST. LOUIS - Troy Brouwer and Jamie McGinn are joining the St. Louis Blues on a professional tryout for the next 10 days, but what exactly does that mean?
Well, first things first: Neither Brouwer nor McGinn can play in a game unless they are signed to standard player contracts.
Because of long-term injuries to Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder, five months) and Alexander Steen (ankle, four weeks), Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong said he wanted to bring experienced players in for the team's practices.

"It's an experienced League, and we just wanted to see if there are any experienced players that can help us," Armstrong said. "With our depth down in the American Hockey League, we're really excited about the way (Nathan) Walker is playing, and (Klim) Kostin and (Jordan) Kyrou, but again, if you look at their experience, it's not there. We don't want to get in a situation where we have 11 or 12 players without experience (on the roster).
"There are no guarantees for Jamie or for Troy, but we're going to take a look at them."

Both Brouwer and McGinn can practice with the Blues for up to 10 days, where they will be evaluated by Armstrong and his hockey operations staff. Both players are expected to travel with the team to the upcoming team road trip to Columbus. After 10 days, Armstrong said he expects he will have seen enough to decide whether to offer a contract to one or both of them.
"They're competing with everyone to see where they fit on an NHL roster," Armstrong said. "We have 12 healthy guys that are here and we'll see where they fit in. It's not competition for one job, it could be zero jobs. We'll see how they play, it could be two."
Brouwer, 34, spent the 2015-16 season with the Blues, posting 18 goals and 21 assists (39 points) in 82 games. He also scored one of the most memorable goals in franchise playoff history at the time, netting the game-winning goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7. The Blues eventually would reach the Western Conference Final that season for the first time in 15 years.
McGinn, 31, has played in 11 NHL seasons - most recently with the Florida Panthers - and has amassed 220 points (117 goals, 103 assists) in his 617-game career.