[News] Hamonic cleared for contact.

[Canada 02]

I’d be surprised if Hamonic is not paired with Hanifin

[TheScorpion]

I remember Wideman being a healthy scratch for the majority of the games post-deadline in 2017 after the Flames acquired Stone.

I could see the same thing happening with Hamonic.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by MrMike

Guys a warrior. We will be happy to have him come playoff time.

Meh, he was brutal last playoffs. A year later and more prone to injury, I doubt he magically turns into some playoff warrior. Glad he's back though as depth is always a good thing.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Meh, he was brutal last playoffs. A year later and more prone to injury, I doubt he magically turns into some playoff warrior. Glad he's back though as depth is always a good thing.

Hamonic was logging +22 mins a game in the playoffs last year. I can't see that happening again regardless of with whomever he is paired. I think if he is managed at 15–18 mins a night he can still be a really good option.

[Hey Connor, It's Mess]

Hamonic is a polarizing one. Absolutely stabilizes our PK and is a monster at clearing the net & blocking shots. At even strength he loses coverage a lot due to his foot speed and has very limited puck moving ability. He and Hanifin should under no circumstances be reunited. I've already seen a difference in Hanifin's game since the separation.

[The Cobra]

I wonder when Gustafsson will be cleared for contact?

[Geeoff]

Record without Hamonic must be pretty decent hmmmm

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

I’d be surprised if Hamonic is not paired with Hanifin

ugh that would be frustrating as hell.

Hanafin looks way better with Anderson, and Anderson just looks better and better playing on that 2nd pair.

Hamonic is a 3rd pair guy, and if they try to force him back with Hanafin, I'll be very disappointed in the coaching staff.

[djsFlames]

Deep blue line is deep. Please dont reunite HH.

[calgarywinning]

Rested Hamonic is really good this time of year. All upside so far.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I'm sure we'll see that (along with many other combos), but I am not a fan because Forbort-Hamonic would be slow and unable to move the puck.

I think Forbort-Gustaffson is an ideal 3rd pair because each of them can also be sued for specific needs (Gustaffson PP, Forbort for net-front presence).

Both Hamonic and Forbort have a decent underrated first pass. As long as the forwards cooperate I think their zone exit will be OK.

[BigBrodieFan]

Nm wrong thread

[SeanCharles]

Gio-Brodie
Hanifin-Andersson
Gustafsson-Hamonic

Forbort-Stone

Send Kylington to the farm.

[Erick Estrada]

IMO this team hasn't missed Hamonic one bit. In fact they have been far better defensively without him. The sooner this organization accepts he's a 3rd pairing defenseman the better. It will be interesting to see what he fetches in free agency as any team offering him decent money and term will be sorely disappointed.

[BigRed]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

IMO this team hasn't missed Hamonic one bit. .

Agreed, which is a little surprising because I actually think he's played pretty well this year, especially on the PK. Chalk it up to chemistry maybe -- somehow he makes Hanifin worse?

Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see what the team does at the end of the year.

I prefer Forbort to Hamonic, honestly, though hard to guess if he wants to stay. I think Gus is likely gone whatever happens -- he's talked a lot about never wanting to leave Chicago, etc. If that's the case, keeping Brodie becomes a pretty big deal, which is should be anyway IMO.

[Lil Pedro]

Putting Hamonic back together with Hanifin is a big mistake. It's not a surprise that Hanifin's game improved leaps and bounds when he was put on a pair with Rasmus. Hamonic on the third pairing with either Gus or Forbort is perfect. That said, I hope they allow Hamonic to walk July 1st

[Kipper_3434]

Our PK has been ridiculously good without Hamonic. His tendency to always shoot 5v5 has been one of the most frustrating things to watch this season. Glad to have the depth, but not sure he's top 6 at this point with our current depth. If he was a Lhs he'd be in the press box.

That being said forbort hamonic could be a descent shutdown pair and maybe save Gio from some pk minutes. Overall a good position to be in.

[GullFoss]

I'm more excited about Valimaki than Hamonic. Hamonic is a marginal upgrade over Forbort.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

I'm more excited about Valimaki than Hamonic. Hamonic is a marginal upgrade over Forbort.

Disagree, from what I have seen Hamonic is not an upgrade on Forbort. I am actually hoping the Flames bring Forbort back, he has been what I was hoping Hamonic would be when we acquired him.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by BigRed

Agreed, which is a little surprising because I actually think he's played pretty well this year, especially on the PK. Chalk it up to chemistry maybe -- somehow he makes Hanifin worse?

Hamonic's issue is that teams have been entering the our zone at will on him as he backs up like a tall, slow Kris Russell. This makes everyone worse because instead of breaking up plays at the blue line the team has to defend in the defensive zone, something Hanifin in particular struggles with as do a couple of our top line forwards.

Moving Andersson to that pair has resulted in far more plays broken up in the neutral zone as they should.