[Rumour] Hamonic to Vancouver on PTO. May have 1 yr deal in place

[Manhattanboy]

I share the feelings of frustration. I liked Hamonic. Too bad it ended this way for him and the Flames.

[AC]

I have to laugh at the idea that people here (or the team for that matter) didn't miss Hamonic in the playoffs at all. He definitely wasn't what we hoped, but he would have helped a lot vs Dallas IMO.

Derek Forbort fell off a cliff defensively vs Dallas. He was a combined -5 in the losses of Games 2, 4, and 5. He was completely lost on the GWG of Game 2 with 30 seconds left and was -3 in Game 4.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I totally disagree with this for his final season. He was terrible last year, he played like he could care less. Many of us even were happy when he opted out because the alternative D men could not possibly be worse. Regardless of why he skipped the playoffs I will be thrilled if he ends up in Vancouver.

I just don't think Hamonic is very good anymore.

The role of d-men changed dramatically in the last 2-3 years, and the game got faster. Hamonic is on the wrong side of 30. His offensive output in line with his career output.

A guy with Hamonic's skills getting 21 minutes/night, with mostly defensive zone starts in front of an, at times, shaky goaltending duo isn't going to impress.

For the record, I also agree that it's time for the Flames to move on. I just don't feel that lack of effort has ever been the issue, lack of applicable skills is. A pairing of Hamonic and Hanifin just does not suit the modern NHL. I'm excited to see what Hanifin can do with a more mobile partner.

[FlamesAddiction]

There is no question Hamonic's play declined and he did not seem content in his reduced role.

But when it comes to him opting out during the playoffs, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. I think it's completely reasonable that at the time, he was anxious because of the risks, and now 6 months later, he has come to terms with the new normal.

I think society in general has moved in that direction.

I'm just saying, don't be so quick to judge someone until you walked in their shoes. We don't know what is going through his mind at the time. As someone who suffered personal tragedy at a young age, he could be wired in a way that makes taking unknown risks difficult.

What we know now is that the NHL bubble worked really well. He now has the ability of hind sight to make a more informed decision about returning.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by AC

I have to laugh at the idea that people here (or the team for that matter) didn't miss Hamonic in the playoffs at all. He definitely wasn't what we hoped, but he would have helped a lot vs Dallas IMO.

Derek Forbort fell off a cliff defensively vs Dallas. He was a combined -5 in the losses of Games 2, 4, and 5. He was completely lost on the GWG of Game 2 with 30 seconds left and was -3 in Game 4.

Why laugh?

Do you forget how bad Hamonic was against Colorado?

[AC]

Like I said, I laugh because subbing Hamonic in for Forbort would have helped us against Dallas.

Hamonic wasn't great vs COL but the whole team was garbage really.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

A lot of people are assuming he made the decision based on managing the risk of COVID. Which is possible and perhaps even probable. But amongst the things we don't know anything about is what was going on with his family at that time. One of the unique elements of the bubble was that players would be separated from their family for an extended period of time - something that won't be the case now with the season.

So that's one of the factors that changed, and perhaps caused his decision to change.

Perhaps he felt he could not be away from his family for that length of time.

Again - lots we don't know.

True but I can't see how taking long Canadian Division road trips out of Vancouver will be any better than the bubble. That's a lot of time in the air, going through airports, checking into hotels etc...



Not saying he's not a standup guy or that he shafted the Flames in any way. But it would be a risk to sign him. He could leave the team mid-season.

[alcatrazhockey]

6 pages in, I don't think anybody has mentioned yet that one of the biggest differences between today and when Hamonic backed out in August is that there are vaccines available now. Just wanted to note that.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

True but I can't see how taking long Canadian Division road trips out of Vancouver will be any better than the bubble. That's a lot of time in the air, going through airports, checking into hotels etc...



Not saying he's not a standup guy or that he shafted the Flames in any way. But it would be a risk to sign him. He could leave the team mid-season.

Yeah, it’s not going to work like that. Charter planes, private sanitized buses, not going to be going through airports, no interaction with the public. Straight between hotels and rinks

I think they have actually put some thought and effort in to this

[KootenayFlamesFan]

“Like every parent, everything we do is to provide and protect our kids and try to take away any suffering they may endure. Last year, we spent the longest, scariest and hardest week of our lives by our daughter’s hospital bedside. We were unsure of what would come next but with God’s strength our little girl fought her respiratory virus and recovered. During that long week, we were helpless and couldn’t do anything to help her except hold her little hand, kiss her head, and pray. We saw what a respiratory virus can do to our healthy little girl and it’s something no parent wants or should go through. Now blessed with our second child, a baby boy, the risk of today’s COVID-19 pandemic is a very difficult to weigh as parents.

“Due to what my daughter already has gone through and the concerns if she were to catch COVID-10, I’ve decided to opt out and seek a leave of absence from the Calgary Flames for the remainder of the playoffs. I wish I could lace up my skates and be out there battling, blocking a shot and helping the team win but my family has and always will come first. Being my little kids’ dad everyday is the most important job I have,” the statement read. “I love this game and my team. This is a decision that is extremely hard for me to make. I wish my teammates the best of luck and good health. I look forward to joining the C of Red, the greatest fans in the NHL, in cheering on my teammates as they chase the opportunity to bring the Stanley Cup home to Calgary.”

https://calgaryherald.com/sports/hoc...return-to-play

As a parent myself, I'm not sure how I can put myself in his shoes, read his statement, and then come in here and complain and insult the guy like others have. I probably would have done the same thing he did. It's a friggin' game. Family comes first. He was obviously very concerned last season (for good reason), and seems to be more comfortable now to come back. Good for him. I wish him all the best.

[Matata]

That's emotion driven nonsense and a great example of why you should make decisions with your head and not your heart.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

You seem to think that Tanev was some sort of break out dynamo. He has a decent first pass, but it wasn't any where near as good as it used to be this past season but that didn't matter since his partner was Quinn Hughes. This brings me to your scenario, why in gods name is Hamonic moving the puck out of the zone when his partner is Quinn Hughes?

lol, solid strawman there.

Tanev does not need to be a breakout dynamo to be considerably superior to Hamonic in that regard.

As to the final point, unfortunately, the game is a little more complicated than simply saying 'let Hughes move the puck'. Pro tip: teams scout each other, and obviously if you're playing against Hamonic and Hughes, you are going to play the puck in Hamonic's corner as much as possible.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Matata

That's emotion driven nonsense and a great example of why you should make decisions with your head and not your heart.

Some people put family first, before a game/sport/entertainment. As they should.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Matata

That's emotion driven nonsense and a great example of why you should make decisions with your head and not your heart.

So is playing a game for a silver cup.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by AC

I have to laugh at the idea that people here (or the team for that matter) didn't miss Hamonic in the playoffs at all. He definitely wasn't what we hoped, but he would have helped a lot vs Dallas IMO.

Derek Forbort fell off a cliff defensively vs Dallas. He was a combined -5 in the losses of Games 2, 4, and 5. He was completely lost on the GWG of Game 2 with 30 seconds left and was -3 in Game 4.

Possibly a happy Hamonic sporting a new contract would have made a difference but the bottom line is Hamonic didn't want to play and Forbort did.

We can debate why he sat out but it makes little difference now.

[mikeecho]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

While I empathize, he does get payed a lot of money to be away from his family. He would have been away from them and not put anyone at risk.

He wouldn't have been paid anything to be in the bubble. Players don't get paid anything in the playoffs.

I'm not saying it did or didn't influence his decision to play/not play in the bubble, but the start of this season would have been the first financial impact to Hamonic had he decided to not play for the upcoming season.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

That's a pretty big "if". The coach saw one game of Juolevi in the play in-round, and said, "no thanks, I'll take 23 man games of Oscar Fantenberg and Jordie Benn."

Ah yes. It's best to throw a just recently recovered from a season ending injury 23 year old into his first NHL games in the play-offs.

We had experienced NHL depth and that made a lot more sense than feeding Juolevi to the wolves. Not every young player is going to Makar their way into the play-offs and destroy a team.

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

lol, solid strawman there.

Tanev does not need to be a breakout dynamo to be considerably superior to Hamonic in that regard.

Comparing his previous partner to his current one, which is what the entire argument is... is a strawman? K.

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

As to the final point, unfortunately, the game is a little more complicated than simply saying 'let Hughes move the puck'. Pro tip: teams scout each other, and obviously if you're playing against Hamonic and Hughes, you are going to play the puck in Hamonic's corner as much as possible.

Just like they did with Tanev-Hughes. Dump ins went to Tanev. Puck still ended up with Hughes. Pro-tip: teams have plans for things like cross ice dumps. The plan, in this case, usually involves a super complicated play called "a reverse". As you appear to be a novice fan, I'll explain. See, that's a play that sees the puck dumped into Hamonic or Tanev's corner and he "reverses" the puck behind the net to Quinn Hughes side, allowing Quinn Hughes to get the pick and lead the break-out. As you watch games this year why don't you see if you can identify this play in action!

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Some people put family first, before a game/sport/entertainment. As they should.

Not a game for Hamonic it is a way of life and his job. You make it sound like he is skipping beer league with that comment.

[AC]

I'm confused why Canucks fans are penciling Juolevi into an NHL spot, even being an improvement on Benn and Fantenberg.

It doesn't look like Juolevi did much in the AHL for an offensive Dman. Rafferty crushed his AHL production from the looks of it.

[Barca]

Originally Posted by AC

I'm confused why Canucks fans are penciling Juolevi into an NHL spot, even being an improvement on Benn and Fantenberg.

It doesn't look like Juolevi did much in the AHL for an offensive Dman. Rafferty crushed his AHL production from the looks of it.

Rafferty is a RD so his direct competition is Hamonic.

Juolevi will have to look over his shoulders for Rathbone.

OJ is not an offensive Dman he's a 2way guy. He can skate and make a clean first pass... that alone is already an upgrade on Fanta and Benn.