Mike Hoffman isn't waiting by the phone, but he certainly wouldn't mind if he got a certain phone call.
When the new year began, so too opened up the window for the Ottawa Senators to negotiate a new contract with their soon-to-be restricted free-agent winger. And while Hoffman's heard nothing with respect to contract talks, he knows where his head and his heart are at.
"I'll just worry about the on-ice performance," Hoffman said, according to the Ottawa Sun's Don Brennan. "That's pretty much all I can do at this point."
The on-ice performance has been great. Hoffman leads the Senators with 20 goals and his 36 points are second to only Erik Karlsson. He's up there with the big boys in terms of goal-scoring, tied for sixth in the NHL with Steven Stamkos and Tyler Toffoli. And he doesn't generate half the press those guys do.
Hoffman isn't paid like those guys, either, not yet, at least, earning $2 million after a stellar 2014-15 saw him blossom into a 27-goal scorer. He finished with 48 points and is on track to easily surpass those totals. And he doesn't want a change of scenery.
"I like the city, I like the team, I want to stay here," Hoffman said. "That's my number one goal. Hopefully that will be the end result."
The 26-year-old's looking for long-term security in his next deal, but knows the process has to play out the way it needs to.
"Not sure what they're thinking," he added. "Just have to wait and see."
And keep scoring, in the meanwhile.
"Sure there is pressure but you can't really control it too much," Hoffman added. "Just go out there and do the best effort you can and at the end of the day, hopefully everything else takes care of itself."
- With H/T to Pro Hockey Talk
