To say that many folks were in shock when multi-time 30-goal-scorer Mike Hoffman signed a professional try-out contract with the Blues on Sunday is a bit of an understatement. On multiple occasions, I have spoken about the obvious fit between Hoffman and the Blues, and had felt like that was always Hoffman's likely destination after Alex Steen was forced into retirement due to injury, but I definitely didn't have a PTO on my bingo card.
Nevertheless, here we are and Hoffman is on his way to attend Blues training camp to discover exactly how he fits into the picture there, leaving the door open to signing with another team if he sees a better fit elsewhere at the conclusion of his try-out.
The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford believes that if Hoffman and the Blues do indeed come together on a deal to play the 31-year-old spend the 2020-21 season in St. Louis, the salary will be in the $3.5M-$4.5M range, and for just one year.
Reports had surfaced before Christmas that the hold up on Hoffman seemed to be that he had one year offers from as many as six NHL teams, but that the Hoffman camp was holding out for a multi-year deal. I believe that the PTO may have been more than just a cap manipulation move to buy time until LTIR can be utilized to open space for Hoffman's deal, with a one-year deal as the main focus. I believe that there is a mutual interest between the two camps on a possible multi-year commitment, but that the Blues also want to see the full range of what Hoffman can offer the team before committing to more than just one season. A professional try-out solves that problem.
Nevertheless, we do not have to wait long to find the answer as training camps are set to begin this week, with a January 13th start date on the horizon.
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