Bruins among teams 'most interested' in free agent Mike Hoffman?

The Boston Bruins haven't made much of a splash in free agency this offseason. General manager Don Sweeney signed Craig Smith to a three-year, $9 million deal on Saturday, but he hasn't done anything else, as stars like Taylor Hall and Tyler Toffoli are now off the board. 

While Boston still needs to sign restricted free agents Jake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk, they're still looking for more of a boost up front. According to TSN's Frank Seravalli, the Bruins are among the teams who are "most interested" in signing Mike Hoffman. 

"One player who has held firm on his value and his belief is Mike Hoffman," Seravalli said on Tuesday's 'Insider Trading' segment on TSN. "[Hoffman] is somewhere probably between $5.5 million and $6.5 million on a one-year deal. A guy who averages 27 goals a season. He can be had on that one-year deal. The teams that are most interested at this point are the Boston Bruins, the Columbus Blue Jackets and also the Nashville Predators."

Hoffman is the market's top remaining left-shot left winger. He's tallied 22-plus goals in each of his six full NHL seasons. If the Bruins were to land him, he'd likely slot in on the second line alongside David Krejci.

However, the 30-year-old could see some time alongside Patrice Bergeron to start the season because both Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak underwent offseason surgery and could miss the start of the 2020-21 campaign. 

With over $11 million in cap space, the Bruins certainly could afford Hoffman at the price tag Seravalli mentioned. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Bruins land him, however, there are a number of other free agents still available that could suit their needs, too.

Evgenii Dadonov, Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund, Anthony Duclair and Dominik Kahun could also be of interest to Boston, however, Hoffman is probably the best option talent-wise.