It was wonderful to see Dan Hamhuis back in the Canucks lineup on Saturday against the Calgary Flames. I mean, did you see his face? It looked fantastic! Considering he had his jaw shattered into so many pieces that the doctors literally had to estimate the number of fractures, Hamhuis’s face surprisingly didn’t resemble that of a supervillain.
I was expecting the Joker, Two-Face, or even Jigsaw, but instead he looked like regular ol’ Community Man Dan Hamhuis. His smile somehow even looked more natural than before.
He also looked pretty good on the ice, playing nearly 19 minutes of reliable defensive hockey. While he was on the ice for a goal against, it came with an empty net after Linden Vey lost his footing at centre ice and sent a pass into his feet. Otherwise, the Canucks out-shot the Flames 13-7 when Hamhuis was on the ice at 5-on-5.
Hamhuis’s calm, steady play highlight just how much the Canucks’ defence missed him while he was out.
With Hamhuis in the lineup, the Canucks at least have half of a second-pairing capable of sharing the defensive burden with Alex Edler and Chris Tanev. Without him, they’ve had to rely on Luca Sbisa and Ben Hutton to play second-pairing minutes. While the Canucks have managed to outscore their opposition with that pairing on the ice, their possession numbers have been deplorable, giving them little long-term viability.
But while it’s immediately apparent why the Canucks need Hamhuis in their lineup, it’s equally apparent that they also need to trade him.
It should be clear by now that this season’s Canucks are not particularly good. They’re currently 6 points out of a playoff spot and have the second fewest regulation and overtime wins, just barely ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their underlying possession statistics are horrific, meaning there’s little reason to believe they can turn things around by the trade deadline.
While we at PITB are firmly anti-tank, we’re not anti-trade-the-veterans-on-expiring-contracts-for-picks-and-prospects.
With Dustin Byfuglien signed and Dion Phaneuf off the board, Dan Hamhuis immediately becomes one of the top trade targets among defencemen. Depending on how you feel about Travis Hamonic and Kris Russell, you could argue he’s the best defenceman available.
That means that the Canucks should be able to get good value for Hamhuis on the trade market, with teams like the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, and even the Los Angeles Kings looking for defensive help.
There’s one problem: the Canucks need to look towards the future of franchise, which is why they need to move Hamhuis for pieces to build towards that future. Unfortunately, the future on defence is looking a little sparse, so they need to keep Hamhuis to bridge the gap between the present and the future.
The emergence of Ben Hutton has provided some hope for the Canucks’ blue line, but after that the pool gets a little shallow. Andrey Pedan looked reasonable in a couple games with the Canucks, Jordan Subban could be a sparkplug in the future, and Nikita Tryamkin might make the jump from the KHL to North America as soon as this year. That’s not enough to make me confident.
Guys like Guillaume Brisebois, Carl Neill, and Tate Olson might have an NHL future, but they won’t be ready next season or even the one after that.
The Canucks could really use a guy like Hamhuis in the lineup to anchor the second pairing as the youth develop and provide a veteran presence for the younger players as they enter the lineup. And, just as Hamhuis is the best defenceman on the trade market, he's also going to be the best option in free agency.
That leaves one hope for the Canucks, one I’ve seen regularly suggested: trade Hamhuis, then sign him in free agency during the summer. That is a massive gamble, however, as there’s no guarantee Hamhuis will return. Sure, he’s from BC, lives in BC, and co-owns a junior team in BC, but there’s no controlling what other NHL teams might offer him during the summer: more money, longer term, or even a better chance at winning a Stanley Cup before he retires.
Can the Canucks compete with those offers? Can they compete next season without Dan Hamhuis?
