Mike Hoffman excited for the opportunity to be a Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens addressed a big need on the first day of free agency, goal scoring. General manager Marc Bergevin signed forward Mike Hoffman to a three-year contract worth $13.5 million ($4.5 million AAV). Hoffman met with the Montreal media and said that he's excited to be a Hab, and that the team has a bright future.
"There were other options, but there's nothing like playing hockey in Canada, let alone Montreal. Being an Original Six team, the fans, the atmosphere and the city, it just has everything that you want as a hockey player. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity of playing in the Bell Centre in front of all the fans. Then obviously the hockey part of it, they've got a great hockey team. They've got some great young talent that's coming up and they're going to be good for a long time, so it was a pretty easy decision for me," Hoffman said when asked about his decision to join Montreal.
The Kitchener, Ontario native was asked about what impressed him the most about the Canadiens and he said, "I watched a lot of their games, more so in the playoffs. They have a very offensively talented group, and they play well on the back end, too. They have the full package. They have one of the best goaltenders in the world. There's a lot of positivity and a bright future for the organization. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki are both extremely skilled, young and still making their way in the League, but it seems like they've been doing a pretty good job in terms of getting to the Final. That isn't the easiest thing to do."
Prior to the 2020-21 season, Hoffman had six straight seasons of 20 or more goals, including 36 during the 2018-19 season with the Florida Panthers. The 31-year-old tallied 17 this season, but that total likely would have been close to 30 if it was a full 82-game season. His goal scoring will help the Canadiens immensely beginning next season.
After being impressed by the Canadiens' run to the Stanley Cup Final, @MHoffy68 is looking forward to being part of the team's future.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/ay5bFOCRws— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 30, 2021
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Patrick Kane | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Teuvo Teravainen | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marco Kasper | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Adrian Kempe | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Lucas Raymond | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Anderson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrew Copp | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Donato | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lars Eller | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Barrett Hayton | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Albert Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Schmaltz | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Turcotte | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Golden Knights | 41 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 59 | |
Capitals | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 59 | |
Jets | 43 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 59 | |
Wild | 42 | 26 | 12 | 4 | 56 | |
Maple Leafs | 43 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 56 | |
Hurricanes | 43 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 54 | |
Devils | 44 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 54 | |
Kings | 39 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 53 | |
Stars | 40 | 26 | 13 | 1 | 53 | |
Oilers | 41 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 53 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||