Florida Panthers: Exploring the Possibility of a Mike Hoffman Trade
With a surplus of talented forwards, the Florida Panthers may consider moving winger Mike Hoffman this offseason.
Mike Hoffman, acquired just last year from San Jose, has been an absolute bargain for the Florida Panthers.
Putting offseason drama behind him, Hoffman had a career season in Florida, posting career highs in goals (36), points (70), power-play goals (18), and power-play points (35).
Always capable of grabbing a point in a clutch moment, Hoffman also put up his second-best game-winning goal tally with six and tied his overtime game-winning goal mark with three.
Despite mid-season trade rumors, the Panthers kept Mike Hoffman around, and to good effect. He shook off a poor month of January with 27 points in 31 games across the months of February and March. Now, these trade rumors may swirl back up again as the Panthers look to improve as a team.
Hoffman’s trade value last offseason was low after a pretty disappointing season in Ottawa and locker room controversy surrounding the wives of both Hoffman and teammate Erik Karlsson.
Now, with career-high numbers and a clean slate, with just one year remaining on his four-year/$20.75 million extensions, a lot of teams can take a flyer on the forward the way Florida did.
Now, the Panthers have no reason to give up their #68, as he’s helped improve the power play over the course of just one season. This is why the team never gave him up during last season’s trade deadline; it seemed he made the team better.
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The biggest problem with the Panthers at the moment is their defense. The Cats have the cap room to improve the backline, but this year’s free agency class doesn’t exactly feature the best defensive-defensemen to sign, with San Jose’s Erik Karlsson headlining the list.
The Panthers look like they will target Columbus’ Artemi Panarin; with the opportunity of a superstar, who has experience under Joel Quenneville and good chemistry with first-liner Evgenii Dadonov, things remain very tempting in the Panarin sweepstakes.
The Panthers’ top six would then be Panarin, Dadonov, Hoffman, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Vincent Trocheck.
This would surely make one of these players expendable to help bolster the rest of the roster. The Panthers’ defense was mixed in with the worst in the NHL last season, and using Hoffman to acquire another defenseman could greatly improve the Panthers.
There are multiple teams that would love to acquire the services of Mike Hoffman if available. Hoffman’s impact on the Panthers hasn’t gone unnoticed, with his 36 goals placing him tied for 18th for goals this season, level with superstars Johnny Gaudreau and Brad Marchand.
I’ve mentioned Winnipeg’s Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba a lot lately, but the Jets would need the cap space to retain a lot of their RFAs in their forward core.
The Jets would be reduced to just a projected $20 million in cap space, which would likely mean Hoffman would be a consolation prize for the loss of Kyle Connor.
I’ve also mentioned Arizona’s Niklas Hjalmarsson; but, realistically, the only way this trade happens would be a 1-for-1.
The idea works in theory, as Arizona would lose Hjalmarsson’s cap to be able to re-sign Clayton Keller and Christian Fischer, who would both be RFAs the year Hoffman’s contract expires.
Arizona was 27th in the league in goals for, while Florida was 27th in goals against. Florida and Arizona do have a decent trade relationship, with the two exchanging mid-value pieces like Jason Demers and Jamie McGinn over the last few years.
Another team in need of a forward are the New York Islanders. The Islanders, if they miss on Panarin, would have around $29 million to bring back Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle, and Robin Lehner.
This would leave them with enough money to bring in Hoffman for a year, as his contract would free up at the same time they would need to extend young center Mathew Barzal.
The Panthers could likely move for Nick Leddy, who’s around the same age as Hoffman and makes roughly $300k more but is locked into that contract for another two years.
With the emergence of younger pieces like Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Devon Toews under the mentorship of head coach Barry Trotz, the Isles’ defense has grown significantly younger, which means they could move on from Leddy.
There are a lot of other trades that could still happen, as Hoffman’s value may be much higher within organizations than anticipated in trade talks.
Mike Hoffman Biography
Mike Hoffman (born November 24, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Hoffman previously played for the Ottawa Senators with whom he was drafted, 130th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Mike Hoffman Age
Hoffman was born on November 24, 1989, in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. He is 29 years old as of 2018.
Mike Hoffman Trade
Winger Mike Hoffman traded twice, lands with Panthers
The Ottawa Senators traded winger Mike Hoffman on Tuesday, hoping to solve an ugly off-ice issue involving star defenseman Erik Karlsson and his wife.
The Senators sent Hoffman to the San Jose Sharks, who then dealt him to the Florida Panthers. All told, the two transactions involved four players and six draft picks.
The Sharks sent forward Mikkel Boedker, defensive prospect Julius Bergman and a 2020 sixth-round pick to the Senators for Hoffman, defensive prospect Cody Donaghey and a 2020 fifth-round pick.
They then dealt Hoffman and a 2018 seventh-round pick to the Panthers for 2018 fourth- and fifth-round picks and a 2019 second-round pick in a move that clears significant cap space for San Jose to use in an offseason that includes potential free agent forwards John Tavares and Ilya Kovalchuk.
The Senators were eager to deal Hoffman amid a dispute with team captain Karlsson and his wife. Melinda Karlsson recently filed an order of protection against Hoffman’s fiancee alleging harassment and cyberbullying in the form of hundreds of derogatory online messages aimed at her and her husband, whose first child, a boy, was stillborn in March.
Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion didn’t hide his reasoning for trading Hoffman.
“Today’s trade showcases our determination to strengthen the future of the team by improving chemistry, leadership, and character in the locker room and on the ice,” Dorion said. “We are confident it is a step in the right direction for the long-term success of this organization.”
The Senators may still trade Karlsson, who can be a free agent at the end of next season, but shipping Hoffman addressed an immediate problem. Dorion contacted the Panthers about Hoffman last week, but Panthers GM Dale Tallon said the players Ottawa was looking for didn’t make it a match.
The Panthers were still interested in Hoffman and made a deal with the Sharks for the speedy winger who can score at a reasonable price without having to trade from their NHL roster. Hoffman has surpassed 20 goals in each of the past four seasons since becoming a full-time NHL player.
“We felt that this would be a perfect fit for our team,” Tallon said. “He’s 28, he can score, he can skate, he’s got a cannon for a shot. He’ll be a good fit for our team moving forward. We missed the playoffs by a point. I thought that we needed to add some offense and some speed and skill to our lineup, and this turns out to be the fit for us.”
Tallon said he was confident Florida’s locker room would accept Hoffman and wasn’t worried about the situation in Ottawa being a problem.
“We did our homework and we discussed it with a lot of different people,” Tallon said. “We feel that that’s in the past and the distractions. We’re very confident that he’ll be embraced by our team and by their wives and girlfriends. We have a strong culture down there now and I think talking with Mike and all the parties that it will work out to our benefit.”
The Sharks, who paid a bargain-basement price to acquire scoring winger Evander Kane at the trade deadline when Buffalo was eager to deal him, shed Boedker’s $4 million salary-cap hits over the next two seasons and cleared room to make some splashes this summer.
“We have witnessed some tremendous growth in our younger forwards over the past season and we feel that we have another group of players that are ready to challenge for additional ice time,” Sharks GM Doug Wilson said.
“These transactions have also allowed us to add to our pool of draft selections, as well as free up a substantial amount of cap space for internal and external player options in the coming months.”
Mike Hoffman Career
Playing career
Junior
Hoffman started his junior hockey career with the Kitchener Dutchmen of the Mid-Western Junior Hockey League in 2006–07. earning a rookie of the year nomination.
At the end of the 2006–07 season, the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) called him up for two games in the season, and four in the playoffs.
At the start of the 2007–08 season, he failed to make the Rangers. Since no OHL team picked him up, he transferred to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he played until 2010.
Hoffman first joined the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL but was released after 19 games. In 2010, Olympiques General Manager Charlie Henry said that Hoffman was “a good player for us, but he didn’t work as hard as he works today.”
The last-place Drummondville Voltigeurs eventually picked him up and he finished the season with 24 goals in 62 games. He was not selected in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, his first year of eligibility. However, he attended the Philadelphia Flyers’ training camp on an amateur tryout and was released on September 29.
Hoffman then returned to Drummondville. In the 2008–09 season, he achieved prominence by scoring 52 goals in 62 games with the Voltigeurs, who came from last in the 2007–08 season to win the 2009 QMJHL championship title and a berth in the 2009 Memorial Cup.
In Game 7 for the QMJHL championship, Hoffman scored a goal and an assist in Drummondville’s 3–2 win over the Shawinigan Cataractes, finishing with 21 goals in 19 games in the playoffs. He was then selected by the Senators 130th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft at the age of 19.
The Senators could have signed him after the Draft as a free agent had he gone unselected, but 14 other NHL teams had shown interest in drafting him, necessitating Ottawa’s selection.
Hoffman subsequently attended the Senators’ development and training camps and played in a pre-season game against the Montreal Canadiens, but was designated for assignment and returned to the QMJHL.
Hoffman played the 2009–10 season, his “over-age” season, for the Saint John Sea Dogs, who traded a second-round draft choice to Drummondville for the player. Hoffman recorded 85 points (46 goals, 39 assists) in 56 games.
His goal scoring broke the all-time goal single-season scoring record for the Sea Dogs, surpassing Scott Howes’ goal total. His point total also placed him third in the QMJHL in goals, tied for second in power-play goals and seventh in overall scoring.
Hoffman was also named a First Team QMJHL All-Star, won the League Most Valuable Player trophy, the League Sportsman of the Year trophy and was a finalist for the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Year award.
Mike Hoffman Net Worth
Olympic hockey players bring in approximately $100,000 per year, depending on the country. So what is Mike Hoffman’s net worth in 2018? Our estimate for Mike Hoffman’s net worth in 2018 is: This person’s net worth is still being calculated.
Mike Hoffman Jersey
Mike Hoffman Florida Panthers
On June 19, 2018, the Senators traded Hoffman, along with Cody Donaghey and a fifth-round pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Mikkel Boedker, Julius Bergman and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 Draft.
About two hours later, he was traded to the Florida Panthers together with a seventh-round pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft for a fourth-round and fifth-round pick of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and a second-round pick of the 2019 Draft.
On October 13, 2018, Hoffman embarked on a 17–game point streak with the Panthers, scoring 10 goals and 10 assists, breaking the franchise record previously held by Pavel Bure with 13 games in 1999–00.
Mike Hoffman Highlights
Mike Hoffman: Ottawa Senators Prospect/Scouting Report
I had the chance to check out Saint John Sea Dogs star forward and Ottawa Senators prospect, Mike Hoffman at the Rob Guertin Arena in Gatineau tonight. Hoffman did not disappoint.
Mike Hoffman is a 20-year old native of Kitchener, Ontario. He was drafted 130th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2009. Considering his late-round status, I really didn’t go into the game expecting much.
Boy was I wrong. Mike Hoffman was all over the ice tonight. He was playing the point on the power play, taking faceoffs and even playing along the wing. Hoffman’s skating and hard shot are two things that stood out the most.
Everything about Hoffman’s skating impressed me. Not only was he fast, but he had very quick feet. His mobility was phenomenal – his footwork, his pivots, and overall his agility were all signs that complement the argument that his skating is already at the NHL standards.
Hoffman also showcased his shot. He had a great slapshot and an even better wrist shot. Not only was the shot quick and hard, but it was, for the most part, very accurate. He is was a great addition on the point for the Sea Dog’s powerplay.
I wouldn’t consider Hoffman a gritty player, but he sure doesn’t shy away from physical play. If he could add a few more pounds and a few more muscles during the offseason, I feel this could elevate his game to a whole new level.
Another positive was Hoffman’s great vision and his hockey IQ. Hoffman was very aware of where his teammates were and tried to put himself in positions to open lanes and create more open ice.
MIKE HOFFMAN
Team: Saint John Sea Dogs
League: QMJHL
Position: RW / C
Born: November 24, 1989
Hometown: Kitchener, ON
Height: 6.00
Weight: 175
Report Card (Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average, Poor)
Size/Strength Average
Skating Excellent
Shot/Scoring Excellent
Puckhandling Good
Physical Play Average
Offensive Play Excellent
Defensive Play Average
Hockey Sense Excellent
Competitiveness Good
Strengths
1. Skating
2. Hard, quick shot
3. Hockey Sense
Area’s For Improvement
1. Size/Strenght
2. Defensive game
Skill:
An intelligent offensive sniper with quick feet and a great shot.
Scouting Report: (via @B_Hurdis)
1. He’s intelligent. He doesn’t trend towards bad decisions with the puck. His movement away from the puck suggests that he understands where the dead space in a team’s defense is going to occur before the lane actually opens up.
He also plays well within the team system and doesn’t appear as an individual on the ice. Moving with purpose and anticipation within a team concept is a clear sign that he has the intelligence to adapt to the much more structured game that the NHL presents.
2. He skates very well. He doesn’t have a noticeably powerful stride, but it is quick, and it allows him to hit top speed quickly. Unlike so many prospects emerging from the junior game, his skating in the pro game will not be an issue.
You could even make the argument that he has the potential to be a world class skater when he has the opportunity to go through a couple of seasons of training under the watchful eye of the Senators staff.
3. He’s versatile. He’s trusted to play multiple positions by the St. John coaching staff, and he does it well. He plays the point on the power play and has a very good understanding of the rotations necessary to open shooting lanes for himself, and passing lanes to the down low forwards.
4. He can shoot. If given the opportunity, he can absolutely wire the puck. He did seem to have some minor issues with accuracy on his one-timer, but that is something that will improve with strength and experience.
5. His skating lines are phenomenal. Watching Hoffman skate with the puck reminds me a lot of a young Mike Modano. He’s fast and agile, and he forces lanes to open. He also uses this shiftiness with his speed in order to back off opposing defencemen and obliterate their gap control. There was a tangible fear among the Olympiques’ defenders when he got the puck in stride.
This did cause one minor issue for him. Because defenders lose their gap control, he sometimes has an issue with identifying where his decision point on the rush actually is. This is a problem that even Jason Spezza has at times, so while it is noticeable, it’s actually not necessarily a bad problem to have.
6. Even though he’s not a big player, he’s not afraid to make his way to the dirty spots on the ice. He doesn’t crash his way to the front of the net, but he will use his intelligence and quickness to sneak into the right spots when it matters.
His one obvious downside: he’s still a bit on the small side. He could stand to put on about 15 pounds, and he needs to work on strength in his a lower body in particular. Adding 15 pounds would put him at around 195 – 200 pounds. Given the type of game he plays, anything more than that could be detrimental.
NHL Potential: 1st or 2nd line forward
After seeing his play today it is no surprise why Hoffman was named most valuable player and most sportsmanlike player of the year in this year’s QMJHL Annual Golden Puck Awards.
During the 2009-10 season, Hoffman had 46 goals and 39 assists in 46 games with only 38 penalty minutes. He also helped the Sea Dogs to first place overall in the QMJHL this season with a 53-12-3 record and a league-high 309 goals scored.
Here are some videos kindly provided by @B_Hurdis.
This was recorded as soon as Hoffman jumped off the bench. You can judge his quick speed and wicked slapshot. Considering he’s a bit of an awkward angle, his accuracy is pretty impressive.
Mike Hoffman Stat
Owns a great release. Is both skilled and industrious, with a nose for the net. Pays the price to score and has a history of putting up good numbers at all levels. Can also be a factor due to his great speed. His defensive play still needs some more work.
Also needs to add more meat on his bones and get physically stronger in order to avoid injuries better. Lacks game-to-game consistency.
Mike Hoffman Fiancée harassment controversy
On May 4, 2018, teammate Erik Karlsson’s wife, Melinda, filed an order of protection against Hoffman’s fiancée, Monika Caryk. The order came in response to a large number of harassing messages directed toward the Karlsson over an extended period of time, allegedly originating from Caryk.
The alleged harassment included utilizing multiple fake social media accounts to direct over 1,000 “negative and derogatory” comments towards the Karlsson, including comments wishing that someone would injure Erik Karlsson’s legs to end his career, and others wishing Karlsson’s wife and her then-unborn child dead. The Karlsson’ son was later stillborn.
While the allegations against Caryk remain unproven in a court of law, Hoffman was swiftly traded out of Ottawa once the allegations became public. Senators goaltender Craig Anderson later referred to the situation as “drama” and hinted that it was a factor in his own poor performance the season prior. He noted that he felt the situation had been resolved with Hoffman’s exit from the team.
Mike Hoffman Photo
Mike Hoffman Instagram
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