Snapshots: Hofer, Boeser, Puljujarvi, Seney

Some have speculated that Blues goaltender Joel Hofer could be an offer sheet candidate this summer.  Speaking with reporters today including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription link), GM Doug Armstrong tried his best to dissuade any potential suitors away:

We’ve taken the Boston-Detroit approach last year when they had RFAs. They made sure they left enough cap space that any offer could be matched. I’m very comfortable we can match any offer if we choose to match it. It won’t be we didn’t match it because we couldn’t afford it. It will be we didn’t match it because we thought the value we were getting back was better, and that value would have to start with a first-round pick or else we’ll just match it.

I’m not saying we wouldn’t match it with a first either, but I guess this is my shot across the bow. You can go after him. You’re not going to get him.

Hofer put up a 2.65 GAA and a .909 SV% in 65 games while playing on his two-year bridge contract, putting him in line for a significant raise on the league-minimum salary of $775K that he was making during that time.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see a short-term deal come in around $3MM, especially since he’s arbitration-eligible this summer.  Hofer could be a candidate for a second bridge contract as he’s still three years away from UFA eligibility while lining up the expiration of his deal at the same time that Blues starter Jordan Binnington’s contract will be up.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

• The Senators are expected to show interest in pending UFA winger Brock Boeser if he gets to the open market, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Ottawa was 30th in the NHL in goals scored at five-on-five and Boeser, who has notched roughly 26 goals per year over the last five seasons, would certainly help in that regard.  However, affording him could be a challenge.  The Sens have around $10.75MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, but have made it known that they don’t plan to be a cap-spending team in 2025-26.  Considering that Boeser could command more than $8MM per season in free agency, he might be out of their price range unless they can open up money elsewhere first.
• While Jesse Puljujarvi was one of only a few players still playing in the Calder Cup Finals (until recently when Abbotsford won the series in six), it appears he’s already looking ahead to his next deal. Blick, a Swiss newspaper, reports that the 27-year-old is likely to sign in the Swiss NL next season, likely with HC Lugano.  Puljujarvi started the year with Pittsburgh, getting into 26 games but asked for his contract to be terminated after he cleared waivers and was sent to the minors in February.  He quickly signed with Florida’s AHL team and was eventually converted to an NHL contract, getting into five games with the Panthers.  But while Puljujarvi has nearly 400 games at the top level under his belt, he has been more of an NHL-AHL ‘tweener’ lately so heading overseas where he can play a bigger role might make the most sense for him.
• Pending Blackhawks UFA winger Brett Seney has decided not to test the open market after all and will remain with the organization. But after playing on an NHL deal in recent years, that won’t be the case anymore as their affiliate, AHL Rockford, announced that they’ve signed the 29-year-old to a two-year contract.  Seney has 66 career NHL appearances under his belt, including four in 2023-24, but spent all of this season in the minors where he notched 10 goals and 19 assists in 58 games.