Hanifin vs Hamilton

[FlamesAddiction]

They are pretty close right now, but Hamilton is older and closer to his peak years. Hanifin is still so young and will hopefully still have more growth.

I much prefer Hanifin's playing style as well. He is a clutch player that often raises his game at the most needed times.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I liked Hamilton, I like his offensive game and his shot. On a pretty decent contract as well.

But I agree with others that mentioned Hanifin being a calm player. When he's out there I don't really worry at all. I wasn't really expecting that from a 21 year old. It's pretty remarkable. He plays like he's been in the league for 10 years. Between he, Rasmus and Valimaki there's a good chunk of the Flames future for 10-15 years on the blueline playing right now and looking good.

[Niemo]

To be honest, after reading a lot about Hanifin on the Hurricanes board, I became wary of his defensive awareness. So far, he has impressed me in every faucet. To me, he appears better defensively than Dougie. His shot is decent, but not high end like Dougie's. Hanifins skating looks better and he even seems like he is harder to play against (uses his size better). Hanifin appears better at keeping pucks in the zone as well.

I honestly don't know how Dougie had such a high corsi but Hanifin looks better. I'm a fan so far!

Oh, and Hanifin doesn't take ######ed penalties....so far.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Trade is a bit of a saw-off. Each team added the elements they needed. Lindholm is an amazing upgrade on the top lines while Hanifin holds steady on the second pairing.

Bonus if Hanifin becomes a first pairing player down the road.

[BigErnSalute_16]

Just like what most of the posters here have been saying, I love what Hanifin brings. Just seems so calm, poised and smooth out there. I think him and Rasmus is a perfect pairing and possibly a future top pairing, but that's a different discussion.

I also did some digging on breakout seasons by defensemen and a strong majority of high skill dmen breakout offensively in their 4th AND 5th seasons, so I think we got him at the perfect time.

Even if he doesn't have a huge jump in point production this year, but can continue being solid and relied upon in his own end, that's good enough for me.

I am very happy with the trade and would take Hanifin over Hamilton 9 times out of 10, I think we got ourselves a Seth Jones, the comparables between them are very similar.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by TheMagicMan

Being a devils advocate...if Hanafin has so much upside, as reflected with so many positive comments via this thread.. ..then why did Hurricanes give him up?

I don't think he has the same offensive upside as Hamilton, but I think he's a more well-rounded player.

I think the hurricanes have a lot of really good well-rounded guys already, and were maybe in the market for a guy that could put up points (although it doesn't look the coach is putting him in a position to put up big points at the moment).

[SOMBRI]

Hanifin is definitely a better skater. In the China Games, there were a couple partial 2 on 1 or breakaways, Hanifin took a few strides and caught the forward. I know it is small sample size but I would not expect Hamilton could catch those.

In terms of team vibe, I think Hanifin fits in well. Part of it I believe it is because of Lindholm. I observed a few PP goals from the top unit and just to look at how they celebrated after a goal and their body language, you will find that vibe I am talking about. Again, never saw something like that last year.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

[Strange Brew]

There might be a similar thread at Raleighpuck wher their fans are loving the trade, and can’t believe they got Adam Fox out of it too. It appears all the traded players and their respective teams are playing quite well.

One of the tiebreakers for me is that Hanifin is younger. There is the possibility of a ceiling we haven’t even seen yet. I’m reluctant to harp on Hamilton’s shortcomings as we may not have seen his best hockey yet either.

Something I think about: Last year Hamilton played with Gio and right now Hanifin playing with a rookie. Would you put a rookie with Hamilton?

[JJFlash]

I love the Hanifin trade but I wonder if Hamilton would have been enough of a chip to get Nylander.

[Classic_Sniper]

Based on what I’ve seen so far...

Hanifin: Stronger lateral skating, can walk the line better, quicker acceleration, less glaring mistakes (turnovers, bad pinches), less penalties, cheaper cap hit, more years

Hamilton: Considerably better shot, better outlet pass, longer reach, bigger and stronger, more experienced

Overall, I’d say Dougie is the better player as he’s more mature and in his prime. But with his cap hit and less years of control, I like Hanifin’s situation more. He may never be as good offensively, but I like this skating better and I trust him with the puck more. For such a yound defenseman, he seems to have a steadier game and is less prone to unpredictabie plays for his partner to deal with.

[dammage79]

Hanifins edgework is far better than dougies when you want to get to the brass tacks about their respective skating. It was easy to catch Dougie flat footed where you'll find Hanifin can just turn on a dime mid stride. It's what makes him IMO, the best skater on the team. Pair that with a better on Ice awareness than Dougies, you get a more balanced player.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Hanifins edgework is far better than dougies when you want to get to the brass tacks about their respective skating. It was easy to catch Dougie flat footed where you'll find Hanifin can just turn on a dime mid stride. It's what makes him IMO, the best skater on the team. Pair that with a better on Ice awareness than Dougies, you get a more balanced player.

Agreed. Hanifin’s footwork and agility also appear to be at a higher level as well. But Dougie’s shot and ability to get it off and through traffic is probably the single most impactful trait between the 2 players though. But, Hanifin still has the luxury of time and the tools to develop a dangerous offensive game as well.

[mikephoen]

Dougie has 14 hits already? I'm not sure he had 14 hits the entire time he was with the Flames!

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by TheMagicMan

Being a devils advocate...if Hanafin has so much upside, as reflected with so many positive comments via this thread.. ..then why did Hurricanes give him up?

Because their new owner wants to slash costs. At the moment, the Hurricanes are dead last in payroll and only about $4 million over the floor.

Both the players the Hurricanes traded were RFAs. They are paying $2,250,000 less for Ferland + Hamilton this year than the Flames are paying for Hanifin + Lindholm. In the future, if Fox signs with them, they'll have him on an ELC.

Presumably the plan is to trade Ferland and/or Hamilton before they reach free agency and demand money that the owner isn't willing to spend.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

Dougie has 14 hits already? I'm not sure he had 14 hits the entire time he was with the Flames!

Every arena has different criteria for counting hits. I believe the Saddledome statisticians are well over on the stingy side. There is, I suspect, also a tendency to award hits more freely to the home team than the visitors, in which case playing 4 of 6 on the road wouldn't help either.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

Dougie has 14 hits already? I'm not sure he had 14 hits the entire time he was with the Flames!

Dougie actually had a surprising amount of hits registering 78, 68 and 83 in 3 seasons with the Flames. The biggest problem for him was just how often he would let opponents walk by him or around him and then he’d compensate by taking a penalty because he was too soft on the play. Regardless, he’s with Carolina right now and hopefully he finds a fit there on a personal level. He seems like a nice but misunderstood guy who needs to figure the NHL dressing room out if he ever wants to be “accepted.”

[SeanCharles]

The one thing that stands out to me is I've noticed Hanifin has been getting the 2nd most icetime after Gio on the team.

I know it's early but in the past generally Hamilton was usually behind both Gio and Brodie in icetime.

I know special teams factors into these things but what it tells me is that Hanifin is trusted in all situations to point where he may be en route to becoming the 2nd most used dman on a consistent basis. Hamilton never seemed good enough in all areas to be able to do the same.

Hanifin is 21, younger than Andersson.. He's a beauty!

It's exciting to realize we may have 3 of our future top 4 dmen already on the team as 21 year olds or younger.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by JJFlash

I love the Hanifin trade but I wonder if Hamilton would have been enough of a chip to get Nylander.

I'd rather have Hanifin and Lindholm coming over than Nylander.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by PugnaciousIntern

Visually, the gap between these players is much smaller than I was expecting. After a disappointing season, perhaps I’m a little biased as the ‘warts’ of Hamilton stand out more prominently in my mind, such as perceived compete level. I just haven’t watched Hanifin enough to learn his warts. The nice thing is that he’s still young enough that those deficiencies in his game aren’t necessarily permanent.

Hamilton is still the better player now, but that isn’t the whole story of the trade (cap hit, RFA status, etc).

This is a great comment and I agree. Hamilton is a great player but I am jaded, due to the many frustrating things he did last year. I, too, see the warts.

Lots of talk about hitting in this thread. And for me, that was one of the most frustrating things about Hamilton. Hamilton did throw hits, he did play the body. Sometimes. When he felt like it. Other times he was buttery soft. Also, he would hit a guy in the corner, but then casually let that player beat him to the front of the net, and leave the guy unmarked. Things like that drove me crazy.

There is no question that Hamilton has an elite shot. And he has enough tools to fairly be called a great player. But his compete level just didn't cut it for me. So, so frustrating to watch.

Hanifin is an elite skater and already has a more well-rounded game. I already prefer him to Hamilton, just for the chemistry change. And I believe there is plenty of upside yet, with respect to offense. As someone said, defensemen tend to break out in year 4 or 5. He has focused on becoming a good, all-around player. And he is getting there. Now, the game will start to slow down for him and his confidence will grow. Then the offense will blossom.

I don't care how many points Hamilton gets in Carolina. For me, I would straight-up rather have Hanifin over Hamilton - even though I acknowledge that, today, Hamilton is still a better player (simply due to being 3 1/2 years older, and 7 years into his career).

I love the trade. I liked it at the time, and I like it even more now that we can see the 'chemistry' side of it.

And Lindholm is even better than I thought he was.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

When I see Hanifin, I see a defenseman who can join the rush and create offense, but he's a defenseman first.

When I see Hamilton, I see a guy that was probably pushed into playing defense at a young age because of his size, but it looks like he'd rather play forward. He plays the game like a forward, not a defenseman.

I'll take Hanifin, even if Hamilton scores more goals. You need guys dedicated to defense playing that position. Guys who are more concerned about offense will sink your team in the long run. Hamilton always seemed concerned with shooting and scoring goals, not taking care of his own zone. I mean, he made a token effort, but he never seemed dedicated to it.

I agree.

Building a good team requires blending in different skill-sets, and having guys that fill different roles and work well together.

While Hamilton generated offense, and has an elite shot, I was always frustrated by his lack of commitment in the defensive zone. Then there was the added problem that we also have Brodie, who is very similar in that he generates offense, but can be challenging defensively, and maybe isn't as gritty, for lack of a better word, as we would like.

Now, Hamilton and Brodie are both great players. But I found having both of them in the lineup left the D soft and not good at covering the front of the net. The makeup of the D was just a bit off.

Even if Hanifin isn't as good of a player as Hamilton (I think he almost is, and soon will be better), I think the Flames' overall makeup on defense is better from the change.