Blue Jackets place Gregory Hofmann on unconditional waivers
Gregory Hofmann was granted a leave of absence by the Columbus Blue Jackets back in late-December, but ultimately never returned to the organization. His failure to return led to the team announcing that he has been suspended on Monday.
"Gregory was given permission by the club to step away for personal reasons and informed us today that because of those reasons he has decided not to return," said Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. "Obviously, we are disappointed, but we have no other recourse than to suspend him."
Hofmann reportedly has a new contract in place with EV Zug of Switzerland's highest division, National League.
Flash forward to Thursday and according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Blue Jackets have placed Hofmann on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract buyout.
The 29-year-old was playing in his first NHL season after spending the last twelve in the National League, Switzerland's top division. In 24 games for the Blue Jackets, Hofmann has seven points (two goals, five assists), eight penalty minutes and is a plus-six.
Gregory Hofmann (CLB) on waivers to terminate...he had gone back to Switzerland— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 13, 2022
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||