No last minute deal this time around.
This morning, forward Mike Hoffman and Senators Management entered an arbitration hearing that will determine Hoffman’s worth for next season. These things are never friendly but obviously an important part of the contract negotiating process.
It has been well documented to this point but the numbers heading into the hearing are as follows; the team is offering $1.75 million a season while Hoffman’s camp is countering with an ask of $3.4 million.
On paper, it’s pretty easy to see how an arbitrator might side with Hoffman on this one. He’s coming off a breakout season, scoring 27 times and leading the team in goal scoring. And while he seemed to drift up and down the line up a little bit at times, there is no doubting his skills at the offensive side of the rink. He has blazing speed and a wicked release that makes him a threat to score from anywhere on the ice.
Of course Hoffman’s game isn’t perfect. His play away from the puck has been questioned at times and his tendency to repeat the same mistakes in key areas of the rink has resulted in a couple stops in the Coach’s doghouse. Both under Paul MacLean and Dave Cameron. At 25 years of age and going on 26, it’s not clear just how much more room there is for Hoffman to grow as a player. Is his ceiling somewhere near what we saw last season or can he still get better as a pro hockey player?
One thing is for certain, a young player with his skill set seems like the perfect fit for what the Senators are trying to build right now.
Going this route in the contract negotiations is not meant to be a slight against the player. The Senators have the leverage here with their restricted free agent and are going to use it to get what they want out of this deal. A one year contract would keep Hoffman as an RFA and sort of force Hoffman to have another big offensive season before cashing in next summer. You could certainly make the case for a long term gamble on Hoffman right now but as the Senators showed with both Stone and Zibanejad, that’s just not the approach they want to take with their young players right now.
Once the hearing is complete, the arbitrator will have 48 hours to make his ruling. Unless of course he has other plans then he can take however damn long he pleases (see Chiasson ruling).
