His arbitration hearing is scheduled for Aug. 4, but Senators forward Mike Hoffman is hoping it doesn’t get to that.
“We’re in the midst of trying to sign a new contract here,” Hoffman said this weekend, per the Canadian Press. “New coach coming in, Guy Boucher, I had him in junior when I played in Drummondville of the Quebec League. Very good relationship with him, we won a championship together. So definitely looking forward to working with him this year.”
Hoffman scored 29 goals for Ottawa in 2015-16. He had 27 the season before. Over the past two years combined, only 18 NHLers have scored more goals than his 56.
In May, Sens GM Pierre Dorion called it a “bonus” that Hoffman and Boucher have a history, but also cautioned against reading too much into it.
“This team is built around 20 players. So we’re going to do what’s right,” said Dorion. “We’re going to work hard at it, but at the end of the day, if they want $10 million a year, well, we’ll say, ‘Mike, good luck, best of luck moving forward.’”