Now that the news of the Travis Hamonic story has settled, I wanted to take a look at what the options are. We reached out to everyone in the community from locally throughout Western Canada. One thing that came up time and time again when talking about the matter, is how Hamonic is a stand up guy and is sorely going to be missed whenever he is traded.
Hamonic handled this correctly by making this request privately.
With that being said that doesn’t make things any easier for the Islanders. Weather it is in a few days, at the trade deadline or at the draft, Islanders general manager Garth Snow will do well by Travis and move the young blue-liner.
Until then we have to sift through all the rumors and see where the best fit is.
Hamonic made it known that because of a family issues he desires to be moved closer to his home outside of Winnipeg. This leaves the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames as the top destinations although you may see a few other teams get in the mix.
The Jets have numerous options that could help the Islanders, however Dustin Byfuglien is not one of them. Yes, he is an offensive force but, he is in his walk year and everyone I spoke with said he is headed to free agency and would be a pure rental. He also has a knack for taking awful penalties and is looking for a monster pay day come this offseason. Would the Jets move talented but struggling blue liner Jacob Trouba? While he has struggled he is only 21 years old, and has massive upside. Andrew Ladd is another name being tossed around but many feel the Jets will do everything in their power to re-sign him. The Jets also have a talented group of high end prospects with some very close to NHL ready. If Snow really wants NHL capable players who can help now, I just don’t see the Jets as a viable option.
I also don’t see the Flames with a desperate need to acquire Hamonic despite their slow start and struggling blue line. There is simply no chance that Calgary parts with their high end talented prospects and despite Dougie Hamilton’s name being tossed around it doesn’t seem likely.
The team that should have Garth Snow on speed dial is the Oilers. They have the most pieces available to make this deal work. I have been told however, despite the desire and interest in Hamonic, they are skeptical to break up that core of forwards. While, Snow wants a d-man back, this could be a chance at a bigger deal if he included Kyle Okposo or Ryan Strome. I am not saying that they should trade Strome, but if they acquire a similar, more consistent player like him, then he may be expendable.
The trade of Hamonic could set off a domino effect where Okposo could be used to acquire a defenseman or either of those forwards could be used to grab a d-man and a forward along the likes of Jordan Eberle. The pieces are here for a deal to be made, this will be up to the Oilers. Two other teams mentioned are the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues but these teams just showed up on the radar. I am not saying any of this will happen but these are some options that may work based off the information I was told. The Islanders organization has handled this well so far and the fact that Travis has said he would finished the season with the team, makes this a little easier.
However, where the coaching staff has failed majorly is with the current lineup. Islander head coach Jack Capuano has known about Hamonic’s request since the summer. Don’t you think you would want to see some of your young defenseman play a little to see if they are NHL ready? If specifically Ryan Pulock or Scotty Mayfield had games under their belt now and were progressing, it may take some of the sting out of the potential loss of Hamonic. This is utterly horrible planning by the head coach and short sided, but honesty it is oh so Cappy.
Whatever the outcome, the Islanders can’t get crushed on this deal. If Garth Snow cannot get NHL talent now, perhaps a trade for a high end prospect and draft picks will be more palatable during the off season. I don’t know what the answer is but this trade could turn a snowball into an avalanche of roster uncertainty for this Islander team.