On Wednesday (Sept. 18), the Edmonton Oilers announced that veteran centre Mike Hoffman had been signed by the team to a professional tryout (PTO).
A fifth-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft by the Ottawa Senators, Hoffman appeared in 745 games over parts of 13 NHL seasons, totalling 228 goals and 259 assists. He spent last season with the San Jose Sharks, recording 23 points in 66 games.
The 34-year-old is an interesting addition to Oilers training camp, which opened on Wednesday at Rogers Place with 33 forwards, 17 defencemen and six goaltenders. Here’s a closer look:
Hoffman Joins Dermott as PTO Hopeful
PTOs give unsigned veteran players the opportunity to earn a contract with an NHL team by impressing during training camp and the preseason. There are currently around 30 players on PTO deals as camps open around the NHL.
Hoffman is one of two veterans the Oilers have brought into their 2024 training camp on a PTO. He joins defenceman Travis Dermott, who Edmonton signed to a PTO last week. Dermott, 27, has appeared in 329 NHL games over seven seasons, including 50 in 2023-24 with the Arizona Coyotes.
Berglund Injury Opened Door for Hoffman
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the Oilers decided to bring Hoffman into camp after forward Carl Berglund was injured during the Young Stars Classic, which wrapped up on Monday in Penticton, B.C. The Oilers get an extra body during camp, while the veteran forward gets a look.
Hoffman, who turns 35 in November, isn’t the perennial 20-plus goal, 30-plus assist player that he once was, but he’s still got enough left to be in the NHL, even if it’s just as the 13th forward.
The question is, could he be a benefit to the Oilers? According to Elite Prospects, they have the oldest roster in the NHL, with an average age of 30.04, and certainly aren’t lacking for scoring forwards that are on the back end of their careers.
If Hoffman was to join the Oilers, that would give Edmonton an incredible eight of the top 60 active career NHL goal leaders (Corey Perry, Jeff Skinner, Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Evander Kane, Adam Henrique and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are the others).
Edmonton also already has plenty of veteran leadership, and Hoffman doesn’t bring a lot of winning experience: he’s only played for four teams that have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs and has never been on a team that advanced past the conference finals.
Hoffman Has Been on a PTO Before
On Dec. 27, 2020, a week prior to the start of training camp for the 2020-21 NHL season, the St. Louis Blues announced they had signed Hoffman to a PTO.
The news left many scratching their heads: Hoffman had just turned 31 and was coming off a season in which he scored 29 goals and dished 30 assists in 69 games with the Florida Panthers. How was he not able to get more than a PTO?
It was believed to be a strategic move by the Blues, who likely had an agreement with Hoffman and were just holding off on signing him until the regular season when they could utilize long-term injury reserve (LTIR) and maximize their cap space.
Sure enough, on Jan. 11, the Blues signed Hoffman to a one-year deal worth $4 million. He went on to score 17 goals in 59 games for the Blues that season.
Oilers Have Recent PTO Success
Last year the Oilers signed three players to a PTO, forwards Adam Erne, Sam Gagner, and Brandon Sutter. The former two ultimately ended up playing for Edmonton during the 2023-24 regular season, though neither was on the team’s season-opening roster.
Erne signed a one-year two-way contract with the Oilers following their first game. In 2023-24, he played 24 games for the Oilers and 36 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Bakersfield Condors. He recently was signed to a PTO by the New York Rangers.
After an injury kept him out of action during the NHL preseason, Gagner began 2023-24 with the Condors on an AHL contract. On Halloween, the Oilers signed Gagner to a one-year, two-way deal, and he went on to play 28 games with Edmonton last season. He’s currently on a PTO with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sutter, who was trying to make a comeback after missing the previous two years because of long COVID, was released from his PTO during the preseason and announced his retirement from the NHL afterwards.
In 2022, Edmonton signed defenceman Jason Demers and forward Jake Virtanen to PTOs. Demers started the season in the AHL with Bakersfield before signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Oilers. The blueliner appeared in just one game for Edmonton in 2022-23. Virtanen was released from his PTO and joined a Swiss League team.
Hoffman will have to show what he can provide the Oilers in the preseason. Edmonton’s first exhibition game is at home on Sunday (Sept. 22) against the Winnipeg Jets.
