The St. Louis Blues have signed left winger Mike Hoffman to a professional tryout contract. He will participate in the Blues’ training camp, which starts January 3rd. This is remarkable considering Hoffman’s market value.
Mike Hoffman has signed a professional tryout contract with the Blues and will be in Training Camp when it begins on Jan. 3. https://t.co/5ScFoQcbUx #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 27, 2020
The Blues Sign Mike Hoffman to PTO
Over Hoffman’s nine-year career, he has scored 172 goals along with 187 assists. This puts him at 359 points in 493 games, around 0.73 points per game. Mike Hoffman began his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators, where he played the first seven seasons of his career. After bouncing back and forth between the NHL and AHL the first three seasons of his career, he eventually found a role in the Senators’ lineup and was a nightly producer.
Although he was already 25 during his first real season, he put up a solid 48 points in 79 games. After his time with the Senators, Ottawa traded Mike Hoffman to the Florida Panthers. Hoffman improved offensively when he got to the Panthers and scored 70 points in his first season with Florida.
While Hoffman has always posted positive possession numbers, this can be attributed to his usage rather than two-way ability. Hoffman has started 58 percent of his career shifts in the offensive zone, which will help anybody’s possession numbers. Because of his generous usage, Hoffman consistently posts better Corsi numbers than his teammates. Hoffman’s career Corsi Relative to his teammates is a positive 2.9 percent.
What This Means Going Forward
Mike Hoffman is a remarkable goalscorer and will bring more shots to the top-six, potentially to the Blues. The Canadian scored a career-high 36 goals in the 2018-19 season, just missing the elite 40-goal mark. On November 15th, 2018, Hoffman broke the Florida Panthers’ point-streak record previously held by Pavel Bure. Hoffman scored points in 14 straight games, which remains the record for the Panthers.
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