Travis Hamonic Trade Rumors: Toronto’s an Option
By Ryan Ritchie
Travis Hamonic Trade Rumors: Looming Trade Deadline
Travis Hamonic trade rumors have significantly quieted since going public with a trade request earlier this season. The New York Islanders defenseman asked for a trade heading into 2015-16, citing personal family reasons. Born in St.Malo, Manitoba, only a couple of hours from Winnipeg, speculation largely links him to the Jets.
Only one problem – Making a deal work with Winnipeg should prove extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Islanders GM Garth Snow‘s return asking price would be one of Jacob Trouba or Tyler Myers plus a prospect or draft pick. The Jets won’t part with either (not surprisingly). Unless Garth Snow is willing to accept one of Andrew Ladd or Dustin Byfuglien, the possibility of a trade between New York and Winnipeg is virtually zero percent.
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Pressure to Move Travis Hamonic?
We’ve heard very little regarding Travis Hamonic trade rumors, but that may be attributed to the way the Islanders organization operates. We can only speculate to the action going on behind the scenes, but one must imagine Islanders GM Garth Snow is feeling the heat with February 29th’s trade deadline quickly approaching. This trade request is now several months old, from a player who’s been nothing but patient. Yes, he went public to put pressure on the organization, but he went about it as a professional.
A model of consistency on the blueline in his 6th season with the Islanders, Hamonic has developed into one of the league’s better shutdown defenders that can log big minutes. He carries an extremely affordable cap hit of $3.857 million dollars, signed through 2020. Ideally, the Islanders would prefer to keep their stud defenseman who’s done everything right for this organization. At the same time, it must be an important family matter for Hamonic to have originally made the request.
There’s no way Garth Snow can allow this to drag on through the offseason, into 2016-17 without it having some detrimental negative effect. Let’s be honest, the New York Islanders aren’t winning a Stanley Cup this year, with or without Travis Hamonic. They’ve got some great pieces in place to become a legitimate contender in years to come, but that time is not now. Until Ryan Pulock, Michael Dal Colle, Anthony Beauvillier, and Mathew Barzal begin to make an NHL impact, the Islanders will continue to be an early exit playoff team.
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Travis Hamonic Trade Rumors: Garth Snow’s Asking Price
There’s no easy answer in replacing a quality shutdown defender. If Garth Snow is literally trying to replace the skill-set he’s losing, he’ll never find a trade partner. You can’t replace a Travis Hamonic, with his style of play, cap hit, and age.
A defenseman in return is a given. The player needs to be of high-quality, likely a two-way/shutdown defender. A purely offensive d-man will not likely interest Garth Snow. It’s also a safe assumption that the player have NHL experience – not rookies or prospects with a limited sample size.
Travis Hamonic Trade Rumors: Why not Toronto?
When speculation first began, experts were targeting Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Western Canadian teams. One team we never heard was Toronto, located southeast of Winnipeg, but still geographically feasible to Hamonic’s request.
Now, obviously the Maple Leafs are in rebuilding mode, and the goal is to build through the draft. But, it’s not everyday that a 25-year-old shutdown d-man with 368 games of NHL experience becomes available. We’re talking about a guy in the same age range as James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, and Jake Gardiner.
If Mike Babcock likes what Matt Hunwick brings to the table, imagine what he would think of Travis Hamonic? Playing a style conducive to Maple Leafs new bench boss, Hamonic’s approach and professionalism to the game are those rare intangibles that can be contagious to younger players looking up to him.
Which Leafs Players Would Interest Garth Snow?
Dare we say Dion Phaneuf? It may be somewhat farfetched, but perhaps not. It would depend how much of Phaneuf’s salary Toronto is willing to retain. If it’s enough to put him a little above the Travis Hamonic salary range ($3.857), there’s a conversation to be had. A team may feel far more comfortable if they’re only paying Dion Phaneuf between $4.5-$5 million dollars against the cap. That’s a lot of salary for Toronto to absorb, but teams can retain up to 50 percent of a player’s contract. Additional pieces from Toronto would be required to make this work.
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Perhaps Jake Gardiner? A year ago, perception was an offensive d-man with holes in his game away from the puck. 2015-16 was perceived as a big year for Jake Gardiner to prove he can be a better all-around defenseman, and he’s done just that. The strides he’s taken this season may be enough to interest Islanders GM Garth Snow. Again, Toronto will need to add something to make this work.
Most Leafs fans would prefer to keep Jake Gardiner – it certainly wouldn’t hurt to hold on to the 25-year-old. Consideration must always be given to situations that can help make your team better. It doesn’t necessarily need to make your team immediately better (like Travis Hamonic would), but it needs to make sense long-term. This is a situation that makes Toronto immediately better, and for years to come.
If you’re Garth Snow, and Lou calls you up saying “I’ll give you Jake Gardiner, P.A. Parenteau (who had his best years with you), and maybe Jonathan Bernier and/or a prospect.. Let’s talk Travis Hamonic and a draft pick“, you may need to strongly consider it.