At the center of the Vancouver Canucks season was Dan Hamhuis. Their season fell to pieces when they temporarily lost him to injury and went to ashes when they failed to deal him at the trade deadline. Damned with him and damned without.

To the credit of Hamhuis, he took it all in stride. From having his jaw dismantled by a Dan Girardi slap shot to having to address the media circus that followed the Canucks – but mostly Hamhuis – in and around the trade deadline – Hamhuis embodied the cool, collected veteran posture that one might hope will rub off onto the younger members of the Canucks roster.

It’s those qualities, among others, that make Hamhuis valued beyond his on-ice contributions. Which says nothing of the on-ice product, which is still at a top four level. Next for the Hamhuis and Vancouver will be trying to negotiate a deal that accurately reflects these contributions, while meeting the long-term aims of the Canucks somewhere in the middle.

No telling if the two sides will come to terms. That’s another topic for another day, though. In the meantime, let’s get to reminiscing on what might very well have been his last season with his hometown club.

Hamhuis has never been a prolific scorer. His last three seasons he’s potted 24, 22 and 23 points respectively. What might be of concern to Canucks fans, and particularly those who derive their analysis primarily from counting stats, will be his numbers this year compared to last. About the same amount of games played, but fewer points to show for it. 

A three-point Corsi Rel. is nothing to scoff at. Especially playing in the high leverage roles that the Canucks blue line injuries and wholesale lack of experience elsewhere afforded him. Still, these numbers might undersell Hamhuis’ contributions to the Canucks ability to control play. 

Take a guess where Hamhuis is missing from the Canucks season. Not invoking causation, but not discounting the possibility either. This team was playing at a Colorado Avalanche level by most underlying shot metrics while Hamhuis was absent from their lineup. 

The underlying goal data is much less flattering. Still, the Canucks showed as an appreciably better team with Hamhuis playing as opposed to without. One might even argue that Hamhuis improved upon last season, as he’s a -3.52% GF Rel. to show for last season. Spoiler: Hamhuis did this by improving the Canucks ability to prevent goals, rather than score them.

Hamhuis doesn’t leave this metric in the black, but he’s still making relatively positive contributions to the Canucks lineup. In fact, only Brendan Gaunce (SCF Rel. of 6.49%) is showing better by this metric – albeit in a much smaller sample.

Depending on who you ask, Fenwick is the better of the two underlying shot-attempt metrics to view defenceman through the lens of. By this metric, Hamhuis shows slightly less favourably than Corsi. He’s still providing a net positive contribution – although he’s not in the black personally.

You can quibble with what Hamhuis can bring to this team, relative to what he once brought as a spry defender in the midst of his prime. There’s been a noticeable decline, by most metrics and especially to the naked eye. These things are to be expected for a player on the wrong side of thirty, though.

What’s often lost in the mix is that a declining Hamhuis is still a valuable asset. Think of what an excellent defender Hamhuis was one, or maybe two years ago. There’s a long way to fall from and plenty of room left on his arc.

If the goal of the Canucks is to return to playoff contention next season, they are significantly better for it if they find a way to re-sign Hamhuis. It’s not quite that simple, though. They have just less than ten players that will qualify for waivers next season and this number doesn’t account for Hamhuis.

Of course, losing Hamhuis to free agency just months after not fumbling the ball on dealing him to a contender would be an especially bad look for a regime so maligned through the lens of asset management. This shouldn’t factor into their decision, but likely will. The Canucks are a sports entertainment property, after all. Assuaging the concern of fans is part of the job description.

Assuming this was Hamhuis’ last stand as a Canuck, though, it’s been one hell of a ride. I’m not sure the Canucks are a Stanley Cup contender in 2010-11 without him. They sure as hell weren’t a playoff team this year without him – although, really, they more than likely weren’t with him either.