Jim Benning won’t meet Islanders’ ask for Hamonic: ‘We’re going to stick with what we’ve got’

Photo Credit: Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

When Travis Hamonic’s trade request first surfaced, we covered the news from a Canucks perspective and pointed out that it was difficult to see how the New York Islanders and the Canucks made sense as trading partners. We updated the situation on Saturday by pointing out that the Canucks had reportedly not discussed the possibility of a Hamonic deal (as of Thursday) and seemed unlikely to be involved.

Now Canucks general manager Jim Benning has confirmed that the Canucks aren’t going to aggressively pursue Hamonic:

You don’t have to read very hard between the lines of “We’re going to stick with what we’ve got” to work out what the Islanders were looking for in return for Hamonic. They’ve reportedly asked Winnipeg for Jacob Trouba and Calgary for T.J. Brodie so you do the math here. 

And yes, it makes sense that the Canucks would prefer to keep Chris Tanev as opposed to dealing for Hamonic. 

Though Hamonic has the slightly more team-friendly contract, he’s not quite the defensive ace that Tanev is. Hamonic is more physical and is the more productive offensive player, but the primary value that both Hamonic and Tanev bring is on the defensive side of the puck. 

If you’re looking for a high-end, right-handed shooting, two-way defensive defenseman who won’t score a ton, but can play first-pairing minutes and help ensure that the puck spends most of the game in the other end of the rink – you’re better off with Tanev.

The Islanders are likely to receive a significant return for Hamonic, and they should, he’s a very good player with a very good contract. 

For the Canucks though, you can understand why the appeal of adding Hamonic to the defense corps would be largely dependent on on the club’s ability to roll out a very good and very affordable top-four group. A group that would include Tanev.

Removing Tanev from the roster, even if it nets you a comparable piece like Hamonic, is just treading water.