Boston Bruins: Top 3 free agents still available worth signing

1. The Boston Bruins should consider signing Mike Hoffman.

Mike Hoffman makes the absolute most sense. He’s the pure goal scorer that the B’s have been seeking to put on the right wing of David Krejci for years now.

Hoffman has now scored at least 20 goals in the last six seasons, including four where he’s scored at least 25 and one where he’s scored 36. Additionally, Hoffman has not registered less than 48 points in the last six seasons and has scored at least 55 points in the last five which includes 61 in 2016-17 and 70 in 2018-19.

It seems that the only thing holding the Bruins back from pulling the trigger on Hoffman is their cap situation. However, I think Sweeney needs to make some moves to open up the cap for Hoffman, even if it’s just for a one-year deal.

Signing Hoffman even for just this season would greatly benefit the team. Hoffman’s scoring ability would make up for the loss of Torey Krug at the blueline. Additionally, with Pastrnak expected to miss around a month as he’s still recovering from offseason surgery, Hoffman would be a worthy replacement until Pasta returns.

Hoffman being in the B’s lineup gives them a crazy amount of depth at right wing. With Hoffman but without Pasta, they still have a Hoffman, Ondrej Kase, Craig Smith, and Chris Wagner. A very solid depth chart.

When Pasta returns, Boston would have Pasta, Hoffman, Kase, and Smith. That’s a 20-goal scorer on each line!

But as I mentioned earlier, Hoffman’s potential cap hit is an issue. Hoffman’s previous cap hit was $5,187,500, and he’s due for a raise. However, because of the flat cap, he’s most likely not going to see this raise this offseason. So the Bruins could potentially get him for the same price or even a bit cheaper.

Overall, Hoffman would give Boston options for their lineup and create an insane amount of depth for them at right wing. It’s crazy that he’s still unsigned, but with the flat cap situation, it’s not surprising.