Emily Kaplan explains how Sharks GM Doug Wilson capitalized on Mike Hoffman's diminished value and then moved Hoffman in a separate deal to the Panthers hours later. (1:16)
The Ottawa Senators traded left winger Mike Hoffman to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, nearly a week after allegations surfaced that his fianceé harassed captain Erik Karlsson's wife online.
Hoffman, 28, was traded, along with ECHL defenseman Cody Donaghey and Ottawa's fifth-round choice in the 2020 draft, to the Sharks for veteran forward Mikkel Boedker, defenseman Julius Bergman and a sixth-round draft choice in 2020.
Editor's Picks Sens probe alleged cyberbullying by LW's fiancee The Ottawa Senators are investigating the fiancee of left winger Mike Hoffman for allegedly harassing team captain Erik Karlsson's wife
"Today's trade showcases our determination to strengthen the future of the team by improving chemistry, leadership and character in the locker room and on the ice. We are confident it is a step in the right direction for the long-term success of this organization," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement.
Melinda Karlsson filed an order of protection against Monika Caryk, Hoffman's fianceé, on May 4, alleging that she harassed the Karlssons online. That harassment included remarks about the death of their child, who was stillborn in March, via comments on Melinda Karlsson's Instagram account under a pseudonym.
"Monika Caryk has uttered numerous statements wishing my unborn child dead ... uttered that she wished I was dead and that someone should 'take out' my husband's legs to end his career," the document said, according to media reports.
Hoffman and Caryk have denied the accusation.
"It's 150 percent that it's not us," Hoffman told the Ottawa Citizen. "We have nothing to hide. We're willing to cooperate in any way to solve this and figure it out and prove that it wasn't us."
But the court of public opinion ruled against them swiftly. That included the spouses of former Senators players who spoke out against Caryk and in support of the Karlssons on social media.
"This crossed the line from cyber bullying to something entirely different in April," Julie Turris, the wife of former Senators center Kyle Turris, wrote on Twitter. "Unfortunate that this private matter has become public. Incredibly proud of my girl for standing up for herself and her family, it took courage."
This crossed the line from cyber bullying to something entirely different in April. Unfortunate that this private matter has become public. Incredibly proud of my girl for standing up for herself and her family, it took courage. https://t.co/wAOwGTlKy2 — Julie (@julieturris) June 12, 2018
Hoffman has 107 goals and 123 assists in 342 games for the Senators since 2011-12. He was viewed as a valuable commodity at the trade deadline for teams seeking a productive left winger with a reasonable cap hit of $5,187,500 through 2020.
But the return on this deal from San Jose is an indication that Hoffman's stock had plummeted since the allegations were made public. Boedker, 28, is coming off a 37-point season and makes $4 million through 2020.
"Mikkel Boedker is a competitive, versatile, two-way forward who can play both wings. He has a track record of playing his best hockey in the most important games, including the playoffs and internationally. His skill set -- in particular his speed -- along with his veteran leadership fits with our vision for the team," Dorion said.
It's a bold move for the Sharks, who signed left winger Evander Kane to a seven-year, $49 million contract before he hit free agency and have new contracts for stars Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture due before next summer.
For Ottawa, the attention now turns to Karlsson, the team's superstar, who can sign a new deal with the Senators beginning July 1. He can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
Winger Mike Hoffman is actually going to South Florida, not San Jose, after the San Jose Sharks traded the winger to the Panthers on Tuesday morning just hours after acquiring him from the Senators. The first trade from the Senators comes just two years after Hoffman signed a contract extension with Ottawa..
The rebuilding Sens agreed Tuesday, first according to TSN, to trade the 28-year-old forward to the Sharks, along with defenseman Cody Donaghey and a 2020 fifth-round draft pick, in exchange for forward Mikkel Boedker, defenseman Julius Bergman and a 2020 sixth-round pick.
But just hours later, as first reported by TSN's Pierre LeBrun, Hoffman was already on his way to the Florida Panthers, with the Sharks trading him for a 2019 second-round pick, a 2018 fourth-round pick and a 2018 fifth-round pick.
Hoffman's teammate, Erik Karlsson, is the bigger name who could be dealt this offseason as Ottawa overhauls its roster from a cellar-dwelling season. But his own departure, first as part of the package deal with San Jose and then in the Sharks' draft-pick swap with Florida, is both unsurprising and curiously timed -- unsurprising because he and his $20.75-million contract were considered trade chips at the in-season deadline, and curiously timed because Hoffman's fiancee is just days removed from accusations of harassing the Karlsson family over their recently stillborn child.
Hoffman may very well have warranted the Sens a bigger return than what Ottawa received from the Sharks had he been dealt at the deadline, especially considering he's had more than 20 goals in five of his last six seasons. The biggest piece to land with the Senators was probably Boedker, who offers Ottawa two-way forward depth and has been a regular double-digit goal-scorer since he started with the then-Phoenix Coyotes in 2008-09.
The Sharks might have reaped the most benefits of the Hoffman movement, though, ditching Boedker's contract and then collecting a haul of decent picks from the Panthers in exchange for their new forward -- perhaps all before a run at impending New York Islanders free agent John Tavares in free agency.
Just a few hours after acquiring Mike Hoffman from the Ottawa Senators, the Sharks have dealt the 28-year-old forward to the Florida Panthers, along with their 2018 seventh-round draft pick in exchange for the 2018 fourth-round pick originally belonging to the Vegas Golden Knights, a 2018 fifth-round pick, and a 2019 second-round pick. No salary was retained by San Jose in this move.
Dealing Mikkel Boedker to the Senators and flipping Hoffman allows to the Sharks to dump Boedker’s $4 million contract in its entirety, while accumulating draft picks in a year where the Sharks are missing a second- and third- round draft pick.
It’s possible Doug Wilson isn’t done. He indicated yesterday that the Sharks are in a position to add players to the roster.
Doug Wilson today: "Are we positioned to add players? Yes. Could it be in the UFA market? Yes. Could it be in the trade market? Yes. … I think we’re positioned really well to be pretty active in adding another piece.” #SJSharks — Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) June 18, 2018
He doubled down on this sentiment in a statement this morning, adding that players from within the organization have impressed, as well.
“This series of trades has allowed us to accomplish several organizational goals. We have witnessed some tremendous growth in our younger forwards over the past season and we feel that we have another group of players that are ready to challenge for additional ice time, including Kevin Labanc, Marcus Sorensen, Dylan Gambrell, Max Letunov, Rudolphs Balcers, Antti Suomela, Vincent Praplan and Lukas Radil. These transactions have also allowed us to add to our pool of draft selections, as well as free up a substantial amount of cap space for internal and external player options in the coming months.”
Next season’s roster may look drastically different, but it seems some of those faces we’ll at least be familiar with.
