ST. LOUIS — The Florida Panthers’ leading scorer this past season will join the St. Louis Blues during their training camp in January.
The Blues announced Sunday evening they signed forward Mike Hoffman to a professional tryout contract (PTO).
The contract allows Hoffman to participate in all of the Blues’ training camp activities, while still being able to sign a contract with any NHL team. The PTO expires at the end of training camp.
Hoffman spent the past three seasons in Florida and scored 29 goals during the 2019-20 season – the most on the team and more than any player on the Blues last season. He also had 30 assists for 59 points in 69 games.
The 30-year-old has scored 20 or more goals in six consecutive seasons, and he’s had 50 or more points in five straight seasons. Hoffman has played in 493 NHL games, scoring 172 goals and 187 assists.
The St. Louis Blues start their training camp on Jan. 3 at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights.
The puck drops for the first game of the season on Jan. 13 in Colorado against the Avalanche. The Blues released the finalized 56-game schedule for the 2021 season last week, where they’ll compete in the West division against Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, San Jose and Vegas.
The team has undergone several changes in the offseason.
Ryan O’Reilly was announced as the new captain, taking over the honor after defenseman Alex Pietrangelo signed with the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Blues also said Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko will serve as assistant captains.
And a lingering injury issued forced Alexander Steen to announce his retirement after 15 seasons in the NHL, including the last 11-plus with the Blues.
