Headlines

  • Lightning Acquire Sam O’Reilly From Oilers For Isaac Howard
  • NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension
  • Gavin McKenna To Commit To Penn State
  • Tyler Johnson Announces Retirement
  • Flyers Re-Sign Cam York To Five-Year Contract
  • Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Blues Open To Moving Some Pending Unrestricted Free Agents

April 6, 2021 at 6:53 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Blues have been in a slump for the last month.  They’ve lost seven straight and 12 of their last 14 games and as a result, they’ve gone from a team that’s in a playoff spot in the West Division to one that is tied for fifth with San Jose and now sit five points behind Arizona for fourth place.  As a result, Pierre LeBrun notes in TSN’s latest Insider Trading segment (video link) that Blues GM Doug Armstrong is indicating that he’s open to moving some of his pending unrestricted free agents, highlighting winger Mike Hoffman and center Tyler Bozak as potential options to me.

Hoffman is clearly the headliner of the two.  He was pegged to be one of the more highly sought-after players in free agency last fall but it took a long time for a market to materialize.  He ultimately settled on a PTO with the Blues with the framework of an agreement in place; the two sides worked out a one-year, $4MM pact just before the regular season got underway.  Unfortunately for him and St. Louis, it hasn’t been the best of fits as the 31-year-old has just 21 points (9-12-21) in 36 games and was recently a healthy scratch.  For someone that had 65 goals over the previous two years, they were hoping for more from him.  On the other hand, that recent track record should generate some interest on the trade front in the coming days as well.

As for Bozak, he has had a limited role this season while also missing significant time due to a concussion.  As a result, he has been limited to just two goals and two assists in 14 games while averaging a career-low 13:14 per contest.  While he would serve as capable bottom-six depth, he also carries a $5MM AAV which, even if St. Louis pays up to half of it down, will limit his market considerably.

Jaden Schwartz is another pending unrestricted free agent but wasn’t mentioned by LeBrun as a possible trade option.  The 28-year-old has been with St. Louis for his whole career spanning parts of 10 years and at this point, it’s quite possible that the intent at this point is to try to work on a contract extension.  If that’s the case, those discussions would logically need to intensify over the next few days.

Armstrong is no stranger to selling when his team has been hanging around the playoff race before.  He moved Kevin Shattenkirk four years ago when they were in a playoff spot and the following season, sent Paul Stastny to Winnipeg when they were only a point out.  With that in mind, even if they pick up a couple of wins by next week, the GM could still lean towards selling.  As teams that are looking to buy start honing in on their desired candidates, they’ll now need to take a look at the Blues as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

St. Louis Blues Kevin Shattenkirk| Mike Hoffman

North Notes: Maple Leafs, Holloway, Senators Goalies
Main
Injury Updates: McAvoy, Hagg, Hischier, Wild
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Lightning Acquire Sam O’Reilly From Oilers For Isaac Howard

    NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension

    Gavin McKenna To Commit To Penn State

    Tyler Johnson Announces Retirement

    Flyers Re-Sign Cam York To Five-Year Contract

    Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain

    Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets

    Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration

    Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov

    Recent

    Lightning Acquire Sam O’Reilly From Oilers For Isaac Howard

    Blue Jackets To Let Aidan Hreschuk Reach Free Agency

    Islanders Sign Forward Adam Beckman To One-Year Deal

    Strategic Drafting Will Keep Capitals Competitive

    Golden Knights Sign Lukas Cormier

    Penguins Sign Benjamin Kindel To Entry-Level Contract

    Avalanche Hire Dave Hakstol As Assistant Coach

    Canucks Re-Sign Jett Woo, Nikita Tolopilo

    NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension

    Washington Capitals Sign Sheldon Rempal

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version