Islanders: Three best wingers available in free agency market

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 24: Evgenii Dadonov #63 of the Florida Panthers celebrates his goal at 10:35 of the third period against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on October 24, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 24: Evgenii Dadonov #63 of the Florida Panthers celebrates his goal at 10:35 of the third period against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on October 24, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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New York Islanders
SUNRISE, FL – FEBRUARY 29: Mike Hoffman #68 of the Florida Panthers skates prior to the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the BB&T Center on February 29, 2020 in Sunrise, Florida. The Blackhawks defeated the Panthers 3-2 in the shootout. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Mike Hoffman | Florida Panthers

Points per game: 0.86
2019-20 Stats: 29G, 30A, 59Pts

There isn’t a better sniper available on the free agency market then Mike Hoffman. The Florida Panthers and former Ottawa Senators winger has scored no fewer than 22 goals over the last six seasons in the NHL.

Since joining the Florida Panthers in 2018-19 he’s scored 65 goals over 151 games. That’s 0.43 goals per game since heading south from the Canadian capital (after a very brief stop in San Jose).

Bringing him in would immediately balance out the Islanders top-six that has been forced to find an alternative for that second line right-wing slot for two years now.

Gone would be the days of running Leo Komarov, Tom Kuhnhackl, Cal Clutterbuck, or even Ross Johnston in a top-six RW spot. With Jordan Eberle and Mike Hoffman, the Islanders would have two clear top-six RW options to roll out every night.

Sure, he’s a left shot, but he’s just as comfortable playing on the right side of the ice.

Possible Lineup:

That leaves a few names on the scratchpad for the Islanders to sort out. Players like Andrew Ladd, Leo Komarov, Ross Johnston, and Michael Dal Colle.

With that being said, if Hoffman is coming in, it’s not going to be for less than $7 million per year. That means the Isles are going to have to do some cap juggling to make this work. And some of those names might just be gone to make that happen.

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