Travis Hamonic is part of a good defensive core for the New York Islanders. But if he gets his wish, he won’t be for long, as he has requested a trade out of the organization. But before you go thinking that this has anything to do with the Islanders, this is more of a personal issue.
Confirming a media report, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger says that Hamonic is hoping to move for personal reasons and requested the trade prior to the season.
The 25-year-old is a native of St. Malo, Manitoba and would like to be moved closer to home.
The fact that he made his request before the season is an important piece of the puzzle. He obviously didn’t go public with this and tried to protect the Islanders’ negotiating stance. He did it the right way. But now that this trade request is public, it puts the Islanders in a tough position. Not only do the Isles have to find equal value for a top pair defenseman who all things being equal they want to keep, which is tough on its own. But now the entire league knows that they are more or less locked into trading him to four teams (maybe five if you throw the Minnesota Wild into the mix along with Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver). That makes getting equal value that much tougher.
An intriguing possibility, as always when it comes to trading from excess, is the Edmonton Oilers … who need defense and have a plethora of offensive talent to offer. Jordan Eberle teamed with John Tavares at the 2009 World Junior Championships to lead Canada to a gold medal, and then did it again for a silver in 2010. So perhaps the Islanders would be interested in reuniting the pair for some magic, and replace the offense they may lose with Kyle Okposo becoming a UFA after this season. But would the Islanders make that trade without getting a young defense prospect like Darnell Nurse back, or ask for Taylor Hall instead? Would the Oilers trade Nurse with Eberle without expanding the deal?
Or would they try to send Griffin Reinhart back to the Islanders and drive everybody loony?
The Jets are his hometown team, making them the most heartfelt option. But with Kevin Cheveldayoff looking for offense, the Isles may have to wait until the Jets address that need before making a separate trade for Hamonic, which may be why a deal hasn’t been done yet. One thing I think is for sure: Now that this has become public, it should accelerate the process. So don’t be surprised if there is a resolution fairly soon. But now that there’s a clock ticking on this, it makes it that much tougher for the Isles to do what’s right for the franchise while at the same time making things right for Hamonic.
