Canadiens' Hoffman could miss 4 weeks due to injury

Mike Hoffman might be unable to play for the first week-and-a-half of the regular season.

Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said Saturday that the forward could be out for up to four weeks in total as a result of a lower-body injury, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

On Thursday, Ducharme said Hoffman was hurt before coming to Montreal.

The 31-year-old winger signed a three-year contract carrying a $4.5-million cap hit in July.

If Hoffman misses the maximum of four weeks, he'd be out for Montreal's first five regular-season games. The Canadiens play their sixth of the campaign Oct. 23 against the Detroit Red Wings.

The veteran notched 17 goals and 19 assists over 52 contests with the St. Louis Blues last season. Before that, he played two campaigns with the Florida Panthers after spending his first seven with the Ottawa Senators.

Hoffman racked up a career-high 36 goals and 70 points with the Panthers in 2018-19. He's scored at least 26 goals five times and would've produced 27 on an 82-game pace in 2021.