Rumor: Mike Hoffman to the St Louis Blues

The St Louis Blues have some newfound cap space to work with as Alex Steen has announced his retirement from the NHL. The freed up money means the team should be able to address their need for another left-winger. As we mentioned late last week, free agent Mike Hoffman may just be the perfect fit and sure enough one of the NHL's best insiders agrees.

And now we’re off. Signings, cap clearing moves are coming after NHL confirms season plans. My piece: https://t.co/CD3h7qiBHM

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 21, 2020

According to LeBrun, Hoffman and the Blues appear to be a match made in free agent heaven:

I think the Blues have shown some interest in Hoffman and now with the Alex Steen news, perhaps there’s a fit. The idea being that whether it’s St. Louis or another club being able to use LTIR to create space, Hoffman could find a decent fit that way.

Hoffman and his agent have been patient to not jump at the first flurry of offers and now are likely receiving teams' final offers as training camp is set to begin next week. 

The 31-year-old sniper scored 29 goals in 69 games next season and is hoping his next contract gives him a chance to extend on his 29 career playoff games. If Hoffman heads to St Louis, that should certainly help the numbers.

Photo credit:  Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire