Mike Hoffman, one of the best UFAs available at the start of free agency, is still one of the best UFAs available after nearly a month of free-agency. He’s a victim of teams being shoved up against the salary cap, and he’s a victim of future cap crunch. Teams will have to take their time to weigh their options before signing him - will they have to deal current roster players? What does their long term injured reserve cap relief look like?
Hoffman, to his and his agents’ credit, are being patient. They realize that as a 30 goal scorer, he’s got the leverage for right now.