Canucks reportedly haven’t discussed Hamonic trade with Islanders; seem unlikely to get involved

Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports

It might not happen soon. It might not even happen this season. At some point, though, New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic will head west – most likely to a market with an international airport that flies direct to Winnipeg on a regular basis.

The Vancouver Canucks were listed as one of the teams Hamonic was hoping to be dealt to initially by TSN’s Darren Dreger, but as we wrote at the time, it was hard to see how he fit with the team. 

It’s not just fit that makes the Canucks an unlikely destination for Hamonic.

Even though Dreger listed Vancouver as one of the initial teams on Hamonic’s list, it seems that the Canucks were always more of a secondary option.

“But as you guys know he’s from Manitoba,” Dreger said of Hamonic during a Wednesday appearance on TSN 1290 (transcription courtesy of Chris Nichols of Todays Slapshot). “And he wants to be closer to home. So that’s Western Canada. That would be Winnipeg, then Calgary, then Edmonton, and I suppose Vancouver.”

The Canucks were also absent from Dreger’s more fleshed out list when he updated the situation during Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading.

“There are five teams that we believe are in the forefront,” Dreger said. “It starts with Winnipeg because he is Western Canadian and he is from Manitoba. You’ve got the Oilers, you’ve got the Flames, you’ve got the Minnesota Wild, and you’ve got the Colorado Avalanche who are most keen.”

Dreger also said during an appearance on TSN 1260 in Edmonton that he didn’t believe the Canucks and Islanders have even touched base regarding the 25-year-old first-pairing defender.

“Our information as of yesterday was that Vancouver hadn’t talked to the Islanders (about Hamonic),” Dreger said. “Vancouver to Winnipeg is what, a three-hour flight? I think Minnesota would be a closer factor than Vancouver.”

So it would seem unlikely that the Canucks are heavily involved in any bidding for Hamonic in the first place, which makes sense considering the club’s lack of top-of-the-lineup quality pieces signed long-term in their mid-20s.

Surely the New York Islanders aren’t going to settle for any less than Chris Tanev in a trade with the Canucks, and dealing Tanev for Hamonic doesn’t exactly move Vancouver’s hybrid-rebuilding effort forward (especially since Tanev is probably the better player). 

And anyway, if the player’s priority is being close to Winnipeg, the only benefit to joining the Canucks from the Islanders from Hamonic’s perspective is a reduction of about 2 hours (and customs) in flight time.