Sens Win in New Hoffman Deal

Another arbitration decision came down on Monday, as the Ottawa Senators and forward Mike Hoffman had their decision revealed, a 1-year deal, worth $2 million.

Hoffman, 25, still had his rookie status in the 2015 season, had arbitration rights and elected to use them for a new deal, but he didn't come nearly as close as his desired $3.4 million, rather the arbitrator sided more with the team, which owent in offering $1.7 million.

In his first full season with the club, Hoffman finished with 27 goals and 48 points in 79 games, which was good enough for 120th overall in pool scoring, 83rd among all forwards.

In the 2014 season, he did make 25 appearances, scoring 3 goals and 6 points for the club, so he was able to make that step up, once he saw his full-time promotion.

Given that it took so long for Hoffman to break into the league with the Senators, I don't think he should be in line for the traditional sophomore slump that we see on a fairly regular basis.  He'll go into this season a little bit more mature and he does have the potential for a 30-goal season.

The Senators didn't make any big splashes this Summer, so they will be relying heavily on their youth movement to carry them, possibly into the playoffs.  Hoffman, along with Mark Stone and Curtis Lazar, they'll be the key components to the team's top six and how they do, will likely determine how well the team does overall.