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Latest On Mike Hoffman

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Mike Hoffman, ranked No. 4 among PHR’s Top 50 UFA’s this off-season, is undoubtedly the best player still available on the open market. The topic of almost daily speculation, everyone wants to know where the top goal scorer on the free agent market will end up. Well, the waiting may continue for a quite a while longer. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Hoffman and his camp are willing to be patient and wait for a deal that measures up to the veteran forward’s ability. Just how long will they wait? Potentially until after the season begins, currently projected for early January.

LeBrun notes that there are a number of potential suitors for Hoffman’s services who may “circle back” on Hoffman once they are able to place current players on Long-Term Injured Reserve. That would allow for teams to open up the cap space required to add Hoffman. Among the teams mentioned as potential landing spots in this scenario are the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, and St. Louis Blues. The Blues and Oilers do not have nearly the space to afford Hoffman currently, but will gain space with Vladimir Tarasenko and Oscar Klefbom, respectively, potentially out for the year. The Bruins have the room to sign Hoffman right now, but still need to re-sign restricted free agent forward Jake DeBrusk and may still address the left side of the blue line. However, they can open up more space and start accruing some cap savings with David Pastrnak likely to miss a month or two.

Meanwhile, LeBrun states that the Florida Panthers, Hoffman’s most recent club, and the Nashville Predators continue to call about Hoffman. It would seem that neither team has been willing to ante up to land the six-time 20-goal scorer, otherwise a deal would be done. If they were to up their offers, Hoffman could certainly sign sooner than January.

Suspiciously absent from LeBrun’s report are the Columbus Blue Jackets, who cleared cap space earlier this off-season and stated their intent to add a top free agent forward. So far, they have not done that. Columbus could be waiting until new contracts are sorted out with RFA’s Pierre-Luc Dubois and Vladislav Gavrikov, but one would think that the team will jump into the mix for Hoffman at some point if they have not done so already.

For now, Hoffman is content to wait out the market. The 30-year-old may wind up settling for a one-year deal and hitting the market again next summer, but he does not seem willing to take a discount on his next contract, regardless of the term. In an off-season that has been filled with team-friendly deals given the ramifications of the flat cap, Hoffman is hoping to be an exception.

NHL Postpones 2021 Winter Classic, All-Star Weekend

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The NHL has officially postponed both the 2021 Winter Classic and 2021 All-Star Weekend due to the lack of fan participation and attendance that will be possible. The league has not changed their previous target of January 1 as a potential start date for the upcoming season, though that is obviously still not confirmed at this point.

The Winter Classic was scheduled to be held at Target Field in Minneapolis and was to feature the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. The Florida Panthers were set to host the All-Star Weekend at the end of January. The league intends to return to both locations for the respective events “in the near future” and lists 2022 as a target.

In the release, they included this statement from NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer:

Fan participation, both in arenas and stadiums as well as in the ancillary venues and events that we stage around the Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend, is integral to the success of our signature events. Because of the uncertainty as to when we will be able to welcome our fans back to our games, we felt that the prudent decision at this time was to postpone these celebrations until 2022 when our fans should be able to enjoy and celebrate these tentpole events in-person, as they were always intended. We are also considering several new and creative events that will allow our fans to engage with our games and teams during this upcoming season.

It was always very unlikely that either event would be able to proceed as planned given the delayed start and condensed schedule that next season will have to work under.

St. Louis Blues Sign Austin Poganski, Mitch Reinke

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The St. Louis Blues announced they have signed restricted free agents Austin Poganski and Mitch Reinke to one-year, two-way deals. CapFriendly reports that Reinke’s deal is worth $750K with a $100K AHL salary. No terms have been released on Poganski’s contract.

The 24-year-old Poganski was a fourth-round pick of the Blues back in 2014, but opted to go the college rout, playing four years at the University of North Dakota. He signed with the Blues after his collegiate career ended, joining the San Antonio Rampage in the AHL. He has been a solid contributor there for two seasons, posting 10 goals and 30 points last season in 56 games last season and he made his NHL debut last season, playing in one game for the Blues. He likely will continue a similar track next season as an AHL veteran and solid penalty killer with the hope to fill in as an emergency replacement for the Blues.

Reinke, also 24, made his only NHL appearance back in the 2017-18 season and since has found himself developing his skills with San Antonio. He posted a solid 12 goals and 45 points in 76 games back in 2018-19, breaking a Rampage rookie record for a defenseman. However, he saw some of those offensive numbers dip this past year as he posted five goals and 22 points in 46 games. He has been recalled at different points, but hasn’t had a chance to see any game action for St. Louis.

With two more restricted free agents signed, the Blues have two restricted free agents to deal, included defenseman Vince Dunn and Jake Walman still unsigned.

Blues Sign Jake Neighbours To An Entry-Level Deal

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The Blues haven’t wasted any time getting pen put to paper on a deal with their top pick from last week’s draft as they announced the signing of winger Jake Neighbours to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 19-year-old was selected with the 26th pick of the first round following a strong season with Edmonton of the WHL.  After being a role player in his first couple of years with the Oil Kings, Neighbours broke out offensively, potting 23 goals and 47 assists in 63 games to finish second on the team in scoring.

While he may get an opportunity to participate in training camp with St. Louis, it’s likely that Neighbours will be heading back to junior hockey for next season; the WHL is targeting a start date of January 8th to kick off their 2020-21 campaign.  If that happens, Neighbours’ deal will slide which would mean that he’d still have three years on his contract after next season at a slightly lower cap hit.

Mathias Laferriere's QMJHL Rights Traded

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  • Blues prospect Mathias Laferriere has been traded in the QMJHL as Blainville-Boisbriand announced that they’ve acquired the 20-year-old in exchange for a third-round pick. Laferriere was a sixth-round pick of St. Louis (169th overall) in 2018 and has already signed his entry-level contract.  With QMJHL play set to resume later this month, Laferriere will have a chance to get some game action before NHL and AHL training camps get underway.

Vegas Golden Knights Closing On Deal With Alex Pietrangelo

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The Vegas Golden Knights are rumored to be close to signing the top unrestricted free agent on the market in defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, who says a deal could be completed as early as tonight. Fox Sports Andy Strickland confirms that the Golden Knights and Pietrangelo are working towards finalizing a contract.

The deal could also coincide with a trade as the Golden Knights, who have already moved out Paul Stastny, are also a likely candidate to move out defenseman Nate Schmidt and his contract, which includes five more years at $5.95MM AAV. It’s likely both moves could be done in tandem with the belief that the Winnipeg Jets might again be part of that package, which would include restricted free agent Jack Roslovic. Even that trade could prove to be complicated as the Jets might be forced to move out a contract in order to take on Schmidt’s contract.

For the Golden Knights, bringing in Pietrangelo would finally give the franchise its first clear cut No. 1 defenseman. The team had tried to pry away Erik Karlsson several years ago at the trade deadline, but failed to pull that trade off. This time, the team is trying to juggle its finances to fit Pietrangelo into their salary cap, which is quite a daunting task.

Pietrangelo has been a stabilizing force the last 11 seasons with the Blues and is coming off an impressive season last year. The 30-year-old had 16 goals and 52 assists in 70 games and another six points in nine playoff games for the Blues, but is probably best known for his defensive abilities, something that could only help Vegas in their quest to win a Stanley Cup in the next couple of years. Vegas also has a major need for a right-handed blueliner as the only right-hander on the team is Zach Whitecloud.

The Golden Knights still have to move out goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and his $7MM AAV contract for the next two years, but with little movement on that front over the last week, the team might be more likely forced to move out one of their pricier defensemen with Schmidt’s salary being the largest at the moment.

St. Louis Blues Sign Kyle Clifford To Two-Year Deal

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The St. Louis Blues have added some much-needed forward depth as the team announced that it has signed forward Kyle Clifford to two-year, $2MM contract with a $1MM AAV. Here’s a full breakdown from CapFriendly:

2020-21: $700k
2021-22: $1.3M

The Blues could be without Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen for some of next year and depth will be critical, so adding Clifford as a fourth-line option makes plenty of sense for a team that is only a year removed from winning the Stanley Cup. In fact, the team could end up placing both on LTIR to start, which would free up some cap room for the team to add some players, including Clifford.

The 29-year-old spent 10 years with the Los Angeles Kings franchise before being traded at the trade deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward doesn’t offer much offense, he does provide plenty of grit, something Toronto thought would be a big bonus for the playoffs. He finished between the two clubs with seven goals and 17 points in 69 games, including 133 hits. However, he was replaced in Toronto by free agent Wayne Simmonds instead.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the signing.

Blues Sign Sam Anas

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The Blues continue to build up their minor league depth, announcing via Twitter that they’ve signed winger Sam Anas to a two-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that the deal carries a $725K AAV in the NHL and pays $300K in the AHL next season and $350K at that level in 2021-22.

The 27-year-old is coming off of a career year in the AHL in Minnesota’s system where he led not only Iowa in scoring but the entire league with 20 goals and 50 assists in 63 games, coming close to doubling his output from the year before.  However, despite the uptick in production, Anas has yet to have a chance to play in an NHL game.

It will be interesting to see if he gets that opportunity with St. Louis.  If not, he’ll be expected to be a top producer with AHL Springfield, assuming he makes it through waivers next season.  With the year he just had, that isn’t a guarantee.

Blues Sign Curtis McKenzie

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The Blues have added some veteran forward depth, announcing the signing of winger Curtis McKenzie to a one-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 29-year-old has spent the last two seasons at the AHL level with the Chicago Wolves, the then-affiliate of Vegas.  He was quite productive over that stretch, picking up 54 points (20-34-54) in 71 games in 2018-19 and followed that up with a 17-25-42 statline in 61 contests in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign.  If St. Louis envisions a similar role, McKenzie should be a top performer with their new AHL affiliate in Springfield next season.

However, it’s possible that they look at him as a potential extra forward with the big club.  McKenzie is only three years removed from playing in 53 games with Dallas and has played in 99 career NHL contests over parts of four seasons with the Stars, collecting 10 goals and 13 assists along with 131 PIMS.

Alex Pietrangelo Visiting Las Vegas

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No, Alex Pietrangelo has not signed with the Golden Knights, at least not yet. He is visiting Las Vegas though. After rumors emerged that Pietrangelo had boarded a private flight headed to Vegas, it was confirmed to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun that Pietrangelo is taking a free agent visit with the Golden Knights.

Pietrangelo, our No. 1-ranked UFA, appears to be done in St. Louis. Although Pietrangelo himself never ended talks with his former club, the Blues signed Torey Krug, putting an end to their pursuit of an extension with the captain, much to his surprise. The Calgary Flames, another team expected to be a top player for Pietrangelo, also seems to have moved on, signing Chris Tanev. Even the Toronto Maple Leafs and their limited cap space landed T.J. Brodie, ruling out a homecoming for Pietrangelo. All signs point to the Golden Knights right now.

Of course, Vegas also has cap issues of their own and would be well over the upper limit by signing Pietrangelo. That didn’t stop us from projecting Sin City as his eventual landing spot, but this will not be a cut-and-dry process for the Golden Knights. Pietrangelo also clearly wants to see the city and make sure that he and his family will be comfortable before signing what will very likely be the final contract of his NHL career. This is the first reported UFA visit of the off-season, but Pietrangelo is a player worth the extra time and effort. It remains to be seen whether it pays off for Vegas.

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