Over the next week or so, I’ll be looking at six free agents who the Hurricanes could target this offseason. Recently, I’ve looked at the possibility of signing either Corey Crawford or Evgenii Dadonov and going alphabetically, today’s player profile will focus on Mike Hoffman.
The Hurricanes are in a pretty similar spot with Hoffman as they would be with Dadonov. Both are wingers on the Florida Panthers, born in the same year and will likely command a similar contract, potentially in the range of $7 million per year on a five-year deal. But let’s summarize:
As one of the top forwards on the market this year, Hoffman will certainly draw lots of interest. He has scored (or been on pace for) 35 goals and 70 points two seasons in a row, so there’s no doubt he’ll be due for a raise. However, many teams won’t have much cap space to work with, so if Hoffman wants to play for a competitive team, he may need to take a bit of a pay cut to do so.
The fact that Hoffman has averaged a pace of 35 goals per 82 games with the Panthers means if a team is looking for goals, he can be a solution. I would say that teams should be at least slightly cautious, as Hoffman has scored about 43 per cent of his goals over the last two seasons on the power play but regardless, he would be a huge addition.
Obviously though, the issue with Hoffman is the same with as Dadonov and that’s the fact that so long as the Hurricanes are lacking a starting goalie, adding a winger likely isn’t the priority. If Carolina was able to add Hoffman, it would be a massive boost for their top-six and power play but unfortunately, Carolina may have to spend their money on adding a starter instead.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Would you be in favour of the Hurricanes targeting Mike Hoffman in free agency?
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