The San Jose Sharks had quite a few players who didn’t live up to their expectations this past season, however, one of the most disappointing was summer acquisition Mike Hoffman. He wasn’t seen as a big part of the return during the Erik Karlsson trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they certainly expected more than they got out of the veteran winger.
Worst Slump of Hoffman’s Career
Hoffman has been a reliable goal-scorer for the majority of his time in the NHL. Although his numbers have gone downhill over the past few seasons, he would typically get on the scoresheet at least somewhat regularly. Since he became a permanent fixture in the NHL during the 2014-15 season, he never scored less than 20 goals in a season until he joined the St. Louis Blues for the 2020-21 season. During that campaign, he scored a career-low (at the time) 17 goals which would’ve easily surpassed 20 had it been a standard 82-game season.
Hoffman then joined the Montreal Canadiens for the next two seasons, and his decline continued, scoring 15 goals in 2021-22, then 14 the following season. Despite this, the worst was yet to come, and it came when he joined the Sharks. During his 66 games in teal, he scored 10 goals and only put up a total of 23 points, the lowest since he played just 25 games with the Ottawa Senators during the 2013-14 season.
We still haven’t discussed the most frustrating part of Hoffman’s season though. He had a career-long 28-game goal drought and had multiple long-point droughts over the course of the season as well. Eight of his 23 points came in four games, and even further, six of his ten goals came in those four games. He recorded points in only 18 games and he isn’t known as a strong defensive player either, so during nearly 73% of the games he played for the Sharks this season, he had no positive contributions. They didn’t expect a game-changer, but the Sharks were certainly hoping for a player who could help them by chipping in a point every few nights, but they didn’t even get that out of him.
An Important Season for Hoffman
The 2023-24 season was a very important one for Hoffman who is entering unrestricted free agency on July 1. He didn’t make enough of an impact to ensure a team is going to pick him up immediately after his contract expires, which will make him an interesting player to watch as the summer progresses. A team may take a chance on him with a one-year contract, however, that’s not guaranteed at this point.
Related: Sharks 2023-24 Player Grades: Kyle Burroughs
A few veteran players end up having to wait for professional tryouts at training camp every season, and this year Hoffman could very well end up in that situation. One thing seems fairly clear though, which is that he won’t be wearing a Sharks sweater when October comes around.
2023-24 Season Grade: D-
Technically Hoffman’s season could’ve been worse. He still had a goal total in the double digits and had some very strong games. Overall though, he didn’t make enough of an impact to justify a higher grade. There are some factors that we haven’t discussed, such as his locker room presence and leadership abilities. Historically he’s been a well-liked player in the room, but that doesn’t make up for his lack of production. The Sharks needed some players to lead by example, and although some like Mikael Granlund did just that, Hoffman certainly didn’t. It was a difficult season for the 34-year-old, but he could certainly improve if given another opportunity on another team.
