Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Bruins are reportedly interested in one of the top players on the market.
TSN's Frank Seravalli reported Tuesday night that the Bruins are among the teams "most interested" in free agent left wing Mike Hoffman, arguably the top forward still available.
Seravalli says the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators are also involved, and that the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks could be if they make other moves to free up money.
Seravalli also reports that Hoffman, who will soon turn 31 years old, could be had on a one-year deal worth something in the neighborhood of $5.5-6.5 million. One-year deals, like the one Taylor Hall signed with Buffalo, are becoming increasingly likely as free agents find that there is just not much of an appetite for big-money, long-term deals given the flat salary cap and financial uncertainty amidst a pandemic.
Hoffman's offensive production has been pretty consistent over the last five seasons. He has scored 26 or more goals in four of them, has had at least 30 assists in all five, and has put up at least 56 points in all five. His averages are 28 goals, 33 assists and 61 points.
However, there are some red flags with Hoffman. His 5-on-5 and defensive play has been in decline for the last few years as he has become increasingly reliant on power-play scoring.
This past season with the Florida Panthers, Hoffman finished with -0.3 goals above replacement according to Evolving-Hockey, meaning he was actually a slightly net negative to his team. There was a little bad luck involved there, though, as his expected goals above replacement remained in the positive at +4.3.
Still, for one year it could certainly be a worthwhile investment for the Bruins, whose need for wing help increased even more Tuesday with the news that Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak will likely miss the start of the season after offseason surgeries.
The Bruins would likely have to shed some salary somewhere if they did sign Hoffman. While they have nearly $12 million in cap space right now, they still have to sign their restricted free agents, most notably Matt Grzelcyk and Jake DeBrusk.