3 Unrestricted Free Agents New Jersey Devils Should Avoid Signing
By Dave Browne
Mike Hoffman
Mike Hoffman is a tremendous goal scorer for the Florida Panthers. He has an elite shot that he uses to excel on the power play, is extremely durable and has scored 20 goals or more in every season since 2014-15.
He would have undoubtedly scored his 30th goal for the second time of his career had the season not been cut short. The New Jersey Devils need pure goal scorers on the team, and Kyle Palmieri is just one year away from unrestricted free agency.
The most glaring issue moving forward with Hoffman is his age. He will turn 31 in November, will get term of at least four years and will surely get a bump in his $5.1 million salary. His style of play is in the same mold as Jeff Skinner, who makes $9 million per season. Surely Hoffman, who is three years older than Skinner will not get a $9 million a season salary, but he will not come cheaply.
The Devils would be paying a premium for what he already has done, not necessarily what he will do in the future. Term and AAV would not correlate with the direction the Devils are headed in. The Devils are better off acquiring a scorer via trade, or a free agent like Tyler Toffoli. Hard pass on Mike Hoffman.