Per reports, Mike Hoffman has signed a three-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens at $4.5 million AAV. Hoffman was a player who many figured would be looking for a long-term deal worth $5 million or more per season. He reportedly turned down a deal with the St. Louis Blues.
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A pure goal scorer, three years at $4.5 million — many of his goals coming on the power play — is likely considered fair value for what he’ll bring. He’s not a consistent 5v5 player and he’s not going to give the Canadiens much on defense. Still, the with Canadiens looking for a force on offense and with Shea Weber gone, the power play shots were going to need to come from somewhere. Hoffman has 34 power play goals in the past three seasons, tied for 6th with Auston Matthews.
Hoffman has obvious strengths and weaknesses. He can create and shoot the puck like few others in the game. Unfortunately he’s not always going to give you a well-rounded game.
Questions now will be how this might affect Jonathan Drouin.
Hoffman spoke to the media after the deal was announced and said he really enjoyed playing in Canada and that an original six team with the history of the Canadiens is a real plus. Hoffman said he believes the team is going to be a good team for the next many years to come.
When asked how long he waited to decide, he said he watched some of Montreal’s run in the playoffs and it was really about figuring out which team might work best. There were a number of teams on his radar. He said the deal wasn’t a given and it was very close between more than one team.
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