Bryan, during the interview on TSN 1200, essentially stated that the reason he signed a two-way is that they expect him to make the team in camp, and that if he doesn't, they don't expect him to clear waivers. He essentially said he wants, if Hoffman doesn't make the team, to give him a chance to actually play with some other NHL team, which I think is admirable.
The return we'd get on Hoffman, if he didn't make the team, would likely be fairly small, and to allow him to go somewhere he doesn't need to languish in the AHL would be nothing but positive for him. That being said, Bryan expects him to make the team in camp.
From that perspective, the two-way makes a kind of sense for both sides.