The Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators each released a player from their tryout on Monday as rosters begin to take shape.
Three Canadian NHL teams released veteran forwards from tryouts on Monday.
The Vancouver Canucks cut Sammy Blais, while the Edmonton Oilers released Mike Hoffman from his professional tryout (PTO). The Ottawa Senators then released Nikolay Kulemin. Each of them has several years of NHL experience, but a competitive training camp was mainly why they remain free agents for now.
The Oilers ended Hoffman's tryout despite him recording a goal and three assists for four points in four pre-season games. Hoffman could have slotted in the lineup while right winger Evander Kane recovers from abdominal surgery until possibly February or March. That said, the Oilers still have a plethora of depth forwards under contract already, including Vasily Podkolzin, Corey Perry, James Hamblin, Raphael Lavoie and prospect Matt Savoie. Edmonton also has less than $1 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.
Hoffman, 34, put up 10 goals and 23 points in 66 games for the San Jose Sharks last season. He previously averaged 35 points a season in three years with the Montreal Canadiens, but his most productive campaigns came with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers. He never recorded fewer than 48 points between 2014-15 and 2019-20, and he notched a career-high 70 points with the Panthers in 2018-19. Ottawa's fifth-round pick in 2009 has 228 goals and 487 points in 745 career NHL games.
Blais, meanwhile, has 27 goals and 44 assists for 71 points in 257 career games. The Canucks' AHL affiliate in Abbotsford already signed Blais to a contract, so he'll report there despite remaining an NHL free agent.
The 28-year-old played in four pre-season games and recorded a minus-3 rating and three shots on net. While Canucks center Teddy Blueger (lower-body) and left winger Dakota Joshua (cancer surgery recovery) have both been out of the lineup, the team has Nils Hoglander, Kiefer Sherwood, Phillip Di Giuseppe and Arshdeep Bains on their depth chart.
Blais played 53 games for the St. Louis Blues last season and recorded a goal and seven points. He last appeared in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack in 2022-23, getting four goals in five games.
As for Kulemin, he signed a PTO with the Senators in an NHL comeback attempt. His son plays AAA hockey in Toronto, so the 38-year-old came to North America after spending the last six seasons in the KHL. His last NHL season came in 2017-18 with the New York Islanders, where he got three points in 13 games. Kulemin had a career-high 30 goals and 57 points with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010-11, while he had 121 goals and 264 points in 669 total NHL games to date.
In the pre-season, Kulemin recorded an assist and a plus-1 rating in two games for Ottawa. The Senators only have about $1.88 million in cap space, per PuckPedia, and they have Noah Gregor, Zack MacEwen, Jan Jenik, Adam Gaudette, Matthew Highmore and prospect Zack Ostapchuk giving them plenty of depth options on offense. Defenseman Calen Addison remained on his PTO with the Senators as of Monday evening.
Each team must submit its cap-compliant opening-day roster to the NHL by 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 7, with a maximum of 23 players allowed.
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