As we await the board of governors vote on the NHL and NHLPA's Return to Play plan, negotiations with remaining free agents have reportedly begun to pick up some steam.
Per the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch, Mike Hoffman's name has been coming up a lot today, with as many as six teams in the mix for his services. As the top UFA still available, it's no surprise that Hoffman has garnered a ton of interest around the league.
Some intriguing options for the 31-year-old, should he be aiming to sign with a contender are Nashville, Boston and St. Louis.
To me, the most intriguing team here is St. Louis. The Blues may have lost Alex Pietrangelo, with the former captain having signed a lucrative deal with the Golden Knights as a free agent, but they picked up a very serviceable replacement in Torey Krug when it became apparent that Pietrangelo would not return. With the recent loss of Alex Steen, whose injury has forced him into early retirement, there is suddenly both a spot and some cap space available to the Blues to make this happen.
Hoffman, while past his prime, is still an offensive threat, as is evidenced by his 29 goals and 59 points in just 69 games with the Panthers last season. Not only would he be a quality replacement for Steen, but he would be a vast improvement, at least from an offensive perspective.
Though this is purely speculation, I believe that the Blues are one of the six teams for the simple reason that it just makes too much sense for both the team and the player.
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