HOFFMAN, SENATORS HAVE MOVED ON
Mike Hoffman wasn’t sure what kind of reception he might get Monday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
After a video tribute in the second period, some fans stood and applauded the Florida winger who was back in Ottawa for the first time since he was dealt to the San Jose Sharks for winger Mikkel Boedker before being sent to the Panthers in a separate deal.
He certainly hoped he’d be welcomed back and there were only a few jeers early in the game.
“I had some pretty good memories here, and I think I played pretty well for a fifth-round draft pick, so I think they should be pretty happy,” Hoffman said before the game.
While Hoffman already faced the Senators this season Nov. 11 in a 5-1 win at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., this one was different because it was in a place he called home for the last four seasons before the club decided they needed to move on.
“It almost doesn’t feel like a road game,” Hoffman said. “I spent a good chunk of my career here. I have a lot of good memories in this building. These are the fun games I look forward to, coming back to the place where you started.”
The decision to deal Hoffman has been well-documented. The club decided it needed to trade Hoffman after Melinda Karlsson, the wife of former captain Erik Karlsson, made accusations of cyberbullying against Hoffman’s fiancé Monika Caryk.
Hoffman and Caryk have both denied she had any involvement.
The Panthers have liked what they’ve seen from Hoffman. A week after the trade in June, coach Bob Boughner left his Windsor home and took the short drive to Waterloo to have breakfast with Hoffman and find out what made him tick.
That day they talked about the approach and what the Panthers wanted to see.
“He’s a pretty cool cat. He doesn’t get too high or too low and he’s been great for us since he came down (to Florida),” said Boughner. “He’s played great and consistent. He comes as advertised. He’s been a great guy in the room and we’re happy to have him.
“You never know what to think, and you hear things, but he’s been unbelievable. I met with him about a week after the trade and tried to learn all about him. Everything he said, he’s held true to. He’s been a team guy, he’s given us exactly what we wanted as a player.”
With management concerned about the chemistry after learning of the accusations and following a 30th-place finish last season, general manager Pierre Dorion called the dressing room broken in June and promised to make changes.
Hoffman felt he was a good teammate.
“People need reasons why they get rid of some players, and I’m not going to say an excuse, but go ask anybody in that locker-room if I was a problem I think you’d be able to find the answer yourself,” Hoffman said.
The reality is the Senators had to move on and the deal has worked out for both sides. Boedker, a veteran, has been a capable addition to the club’s roster while Hoffman came into the game against the Senators with points in a franchise record 15 games.
His former teammates wish him nothing but the best.
“The onus is on all of us. I don’t think you can point the finger at any one guy,” said alternate captain Mark Borowiecki. “That’s unfair in some regards. We were all contributing factors in that, myself included.
“Guys who didn’t step up enough to nip some things in the bud are just as culpable. It’s on us as a group to take care of that stuff. It is what it is, that situation that transpired, but we’re moving in a new direction here and we’ve got a new focus and we’re looking inward more.”
The Senators and Hoffman have both moved on.
“People around the room can see and sense the general vibe and how much better it is,” said Borowiecki. “That’s a testament to the guys in this room. We made a conscientious effort to change things going forward and we’re going to try to keep our focus on that.”