On Monday St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong announced that Mike Hoffman has agreed to a one-year deal. This deal is valued at four million dollars. Hoffman, who is 30 years old, started off by signing a professional tryout agreement. He signed that on December 27 and has been at camp practicing with the team.
Mike Hoffman Signs
Hoffman has spent the last few seasons with the Florida Panthers. Last season, he lead the team in goals with 29. He also added 30 assists for a total of 59 points in 69 games played. Over his NHL career, he has played for the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers. His numbers career-wise so far have been 172 goals, 187 assists for a total of 359 points in 493 NHL games.
He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fifth round of the 2009 NHL draft and the 130th overall pick. Hoffman was put near the top of TSN’s free-agent board due to the fact he is one of the league’s top goal scorers. Originally he was looking for something long term but due to the pandemic and the frozen salary cap had to take a salary cut.
Going Forward
Hoffman will most likely be in the Blues’ top six. The Blues are adding goals to a team that already has some great goal scorers on it. Names like Brayden Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko, David Perron, and Ryan O’Reilly. The Blues will play the condensed 56 game season in the West division. Look for Hoffman to be a huge part of their team, especially since Tarasenko will be out to start the season. This is a big replacement for the scoring aspect side of things in St. Louis. As well, when Tarasenko is healthy again both of these guys on the same team will provide some great depth with scoring on multiple lines.
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