Hot take: Time to bench Mike Hoffman

Three games in and it’s time for a hot take. Sharks fans knew the team was going to be bad. It was predictable just by looking at the lineup. However, did anyone know it was going to be this bad? The Sharks have been outshot by opposing teams 126 to 60. San Jose has been outscored 11 to 5. Things have not gone well and the “deeper” offensive depth that was supposed to be there for San Jose isn’t showing up. It’s time to shake things up and that means benching Mike Hoffman.

But why Hoffman?

So, why focus on Hoffman?

Because he’s just there. As in, just there on the ice. He doesn’t seem to swing the momentum in the Sharks’ favor in any discernable way. There are no big hits. There are no impressive scoring chances. There are no takeaways to help push the puck back into the offensive zone. Hoffman has had very little impact in his first three games of the season.

In Hoffman’s first game against the Vegas Golden Knights, he had 14:55 of ice time. Natural Stat Trick’s individual event map shows that in nearly 15 minutes, Hoffman had a single shot and a single missed shot. He took a hit and he gave away the puck. That’s it.

In game two against the Colorado Avalanche, he was slightly more impactful in 14:40 of ice time, but notice that despite having two shots on goal and two more of his shots blocked, he didn’t dish out a single hit. He was not difficult to play against.

His all-around game was a little better on Tuesday night against the Hurricanes. He blocked a shot, delivered a hit and had a shot on goal. But he had 18:08 of ice time in that game. There were five power plays for the Sharks.

Shouldn’t a player who gets considerable time on the power play and is not utilized at all on the penalty kill be more impactful than that?

But the others were just as bad

It could be argued that other Sharks on the ice have been just as bad as Hoffman. It’s a valid argument.

While the occasional goal finds its way into the back of the net, the Sharks have spent long stretches hemmed into the defensive zone for the last three games. Scoring chances are few and far between and sustained pressure is a nonstarter.

In San Jose’s closest game (at least in terms of the score), the Sharks had an abysmal 31.3% Corsi at 5-on-5 play against the Avalanche. It’s not just one player; it’s all of them.

But the other players bring other assets to the game. Anthony Duclair didn’t have a strong game against Vegas, but he’s used his speed to help turn things around. Luke Kunin is not an offensive dynamo, but he brings a defensive game that Hoffman cannot match. Alexander Barabanov has yet to register a point for the Sharks this season, but he was the most impactful forward at even-strength against the Avalanche.

Hoffman’s offense is supposed to be his strength. His shot and his ability to create scoring chances. However, through the first three games, it has not shone through.

The game against Carolina is a prime example. Hoffman’s Corsi at even strength was 9.09%. In other words, he was overpowered just about every time he was on the ice. He played 6:28 on the man advantage and yet somehow only had a Corsi of 50%.

But what about the cap hit?

It’s common practice for fans or team management to shy away from benching a player with a contract like Hoffman’s $4.5 million AAV because he makes “too much money.” After all, the cap is a serious issue, and if you’re paying a player several million dollars, it doesn’t make sense just to sit that player.

However, the cap is not a problem for the Sharks this season. San Jose can afford to sit a player with Hoffman’s cap hit and not be in a salary cap crunch. After all, that’s what it’s doing with Kevin Labanc at this very moment. Labanc and his $4.725 million cap hit have sat in the press box for the past three games.

Would it really make a difference if the two players switched places? Financially, no.

It’s time to give Labanc a shot

The Sharks don’t need to bring up a rookie who is not ready to play in the NHL. The team isn’t doing great as it is. Allow the rookies to play in a potentially winning culture with the Barracuda. What San Jose needs to do is give Labanc a shot. It will be easy to swap him out with Hoffman.

Like Hoffman, Labanc spends little to no time on the penalty kill. Like Hoffman, Labanc is used on the power play. Like Hoffman, Labanc is in the final year of his contract and he needs to build up his value if the team wants to trade him at the deadline.

The similarities between the two forwards make it easy to exchange one for the other without any real loss for the Sharks. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? We could lose another game?