Senators, Hoffman agree to 4-year contract

8:58 PM ET

Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was so pleased to get Mike Hoffman under contract that he hugged another member of the club’s management team.

The Senators and Hoffman, Ottawa’s leading scorer this past season, avoided going to arbitration by agreeing to a four-year contract worth nearly $21 million.

“This is a great day for the organization. I shouldn’t tell you this, but I actually hugged (director of hockey operations) Randy Lee today,” Dorion said on a conference call Wednesday shortly after the announcement of the deal, which carries a $5.19 million annual cap hit.

“Obviously we see Mike as a huge piece of our team going forward.”

Hoffman led the Senators in goals for the second straight season, hitting a career high with 29 goals. He also set career highs with 30 assists, 59 points and a team-leading nine power-play goals.

The 26-year-old was particularly pleased to avoid arbitration for a second straight summer. Hoffman was awarded a one-year, $2 million deal through the process last summer, his third consecutive one-year contract. His new deal doesn’t expire until the end of the 2019-20 season.

His arbitration hearing was scheduled for Aug. 4.

Ottawa was most intrigued to see what …

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