We are about a month away from the trade deadline and naturally rumors and speculation are going to pop up about certain players and their potential destinations. A recent example of this was from USA Today's Kevin Allen on Vancouver radio and it involved the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Kevin Allen was on TSN1040 and implied that the Pittsburgh Penguins are very interested in Dan Hamhuis. One of the co-hosts said he had heard that as well. You can listen to that segment
here The Hamhuis talk about Pittsburgh begins at 3:33.
So what's the deal with Dan Hamhuis?
It has been almost five years since the former Penguins GM Ray Shero traded a 2011 third round pick to Philadelphia for Dan Hamhuis' rights. Pittsburgh was unable to sign Hamhuis but was able to secure Paul Martin shortly thereafter.
Dan Hamhuis has been consistently good throughout his NHL career. All of his underlying numbers are positive.
Most people would consider Alex Edler the Canucks best defenseman and even at the age of 33 Hamhuis compares favorably to Edler.
Whatever role Hamhuis has been asked to play he has outperformed with the exception of the 2008-09 season.
Hamhuis isn't what you would call a classic offensive defenseman but he is capable with the puck on his stick and certainly contributes to driving play in a positive direction. To put his offensive contributions into perspective here are some of the other defensemen who are in his 5v5 points/60 range from 2007-15 (minimum 2500 minutes played):
Dan Hamhuis is a pending UFA and currently makes 4.5M. He has only played in 27 games this year because of a serious injury to his face. Much like Sidney Crosby in 2013 Hamhuis took a slapshot to his face which
caused serious damage .
Hamhuis suffered horrific facial injuries when he was struck by a Dan Boyle shot in a Dec. 9 game against the New York Rangers.
He practised with the team Monday, wearing a full facial cage, and afterwards spoke at length about his journey back from those injuries.
“It is kind of hard to describe,” Hamhuis said. “There were multiple fractures, places were shattered, you could count 15 to 20 breaks throughout the face and … up into the cheeks. There was a lot going on there and it’s an amazing story how the doctors were able to put it back together. It has healed up very well.”
But Hamhuis also knows his mouth and face will probably never quite feel the same again.
“I have a couple of plates in my cheeks permanently. There are a bunch of numb spots through my mouth and gums and my nose a little bit. It is hard to say how permanent that will be. Nerves sometimes can take six months to get the feeling back. We’ll see how that goes. My teeth are obviously going to need some work and surgeries in the off-season to get back to normal. I can do everything I want right now. I can eat everything I want to and breathe.”
Hamhuis is scheduled to return to game action after the all star break.
So if the speculation is true and the Penguins are indeed interested in Dan Hamhuis, should they be?
It depends.
I personally do not believe that Pittsburgh should be getting themselves involved in the rental market this year. They are not one player away from becoming a favorite for the Stanley Cup and their pool of trade assets is very small. The team cannot afford to trade more futures for a rental. Pittsburgh's focus should be on the long term.
However, I do subscribe to the theory that you should try to do business with specific GM's around the league that have shown a penchant for perhaps not being great at their job. I believe Jim Benning is one of these general managers. It certainly cannot hurt to have discussions about Hamhuis but unless Vancouver is just going to give Hamhuis away (IE Ian Cole) I maintain my stance that Pittsburgh should hang on to as many futures as possible and avoid the rental game.
So to recap:
Pros: Hamhuis has a long track record of being a good to very good defenseman. He is a logical trade chip for Vancouver if they continue to fall in the standings. Pittsburgh like most teams could use another quality defenseman.
Cons: He is a pending UFA which makes him a rental player. He is coming off of a very serious facial injury. Pittsburgh doesn't have a plethora of tradable assets.
Thanks for reading!
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