Mike Hoffman Signs Professional Tryout

Mike Hoffman was seen as one of the best free-agents of his class and the veteran forward has decided to sign a professional tryout agreement with the St Louis Blues.

The Blues have lost Alex Steen, who retired, and Vladimir Tarasenko to long-term injury, so the move of adding Hoffman and his goal scoring abilities make a ton of sense. The 31-year-old sniper scored 29 goals last year with the Florida Panthers, following up a 36-goal campaign the year before. Expect Hoffman to carry on lighting the lamp for the Blues as he'll play lots of minutes on their power-play.

We had been tracking Hoffman to the Blues for a few weeks now, and not surpringsly the deal was reached, but what was surprising were the terms. 

STL has Steen/Tarasenko going on LTIR...I can see this being smart cap gymnastics.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 28, 2020

Hoffman will join the Blues January 3rd to begin training camp. As per the NHL.com, Hoffman will remain able to sign a contract with any NHL team while the PTO is effective. The PTO expires at the end of training camp.

All things considered, there's a one-year deal coming for Hoffman from the Blues once LTIR comes into effect for the upcoming season.

Photo credit:  Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire