If the Ottawa Senators arbitration awards are any indication, more teams might draw a line in the sand in negotiating RFA contracts in the future.
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It’s essentially a win for the Sens, both in the sense that the arbitrator leaned more towards their offer and what it means going forward with Hoffman. Mike Hoffman of the Ottawa Senators became the final player to go through the process and was awarded a one-year, $2 million deal following Thursday’s hearing. The 25-year-old racked up 48 points (27 goals, 21 assists) over 79 games in what was his first full-time National Hockey League campaign in 2014-15. In tandem with Mark Stone, Hoffman was among only the second pair of Senators rookies to record at least 20 goals in one season since Alexandre Daigle and Alexei Yashin accomplished the feat during the 1993-94 season. His 1-year, $2 million deal is a team friendly compromise as the Senators were seeking 1-year/$1.75 million while Hoffman was looking for 1-year/$3.4 million.
So that pretty much completes the Senators roster, and they are still under their supposed internal budget.
Hoffman is set to be a restricted free agent again next summer.
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If the club can have a winning percentage on the ice similar to what they did in the arbitration room, then it will be a very good season.
