TSN: Pierre LeBrun on if the St. Louis Blues could be interested in unrestricted free agent forward Mike Hoffman.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“Yeah. So I think the Blues, there’s a potential fit there with Mike Hoffman and the Blues. Not to the point where I’m ready to call them a frontrunner. I think there are half a dozen teams that have stayed in touch with the Mike Hoffman camp.
I’ve mentioned this a few times over the last couple months, but I think that once the Mike Hoffman camp missed the first wave, I think they made a wise decision and said, ‘you know what, we’re going to sit back and wait till December, January because whatever is on the table now, is not going to get worse.’ Like let’s see what happens when we get closer to season. And in particular, the idea that teams with, who suddenly can put some, have LTIR cap space as the season draws closer, can maybe circle back to the Hoffman camp.
So St. Louis would be an example and I do believe that the Blues have had at least one conversation with the Hoffman camp.
Boston would be another depending on when the season actually starts and where Pastrnak and Marchard are in their recoveries, right? The Bruins had looked at Taylor Hall, didn’t pull the trigger. So, speaking of windows, how big is Boston’s? So, is there a way to get in on that, and there is a couple other teams with LTIR situations.
If Vegas can make a trade or two, do they circle back and get in on Hoffman. That is something else that has been batted around. So. that’s kind of the exciting part guys.
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There is going to be a mini flurry of news here before the puck drops. I mean Barzal and Dubois and Cirelli, the top three RFAs who need deals before the season starts. You’ve got Tampa and Vegas still in cap troubles. So there is stuff coming once you know there is a year, once GMs know what the rules are, once agents know what the rules are.