Mike Hoffman joined the Montreal Canadiens on July 28, when he proved to be one of the most interesting players of that opening day of the free agent market. Hoffman is known as a great shooter, he has one of the best shots in the league. He remains one of the best players on the massive offense, but at 5-on-5, he is not nearly as effective as Tomas Tatar, for example.
Yes, the Habs needed that extra weapon to reinvigorate their power play. Alex Burrows is certainly very happy with this important addition to his units. However, as Allan Katz of the habsworld.net blog wisely pointed out, whether or not the Mike Hoffman signature is a success will depend on Marc Bergevin. The GM will have to find a way to complement Hoffman with a center who excels on the ice.
Jake Evans has that quality, but does he have enough offensive instinct to contribute to Mike Hoffman's success? Maybe he does. Evans has some interesting up-side speed that "fit" well with Hoffman's, which could be a solution. Otherwise, the solution is to go through a trade or the free agent market. Although on the free agent list, it is rather thin... Travis Zajac? Tyler Bozak? Eric Staal? That's thin!
In short, even if he has been left out at times with the St. Louis Blues, Hoffman remains a major addition for the Montreal Canadiens and he will certainly change the game on the power play. The number 68 of the Red-White-Blue remains an improvement for the Montreal Canadiens, despite its defensive shortcomings.
