Hamonic is getting vastly overrated defensively by those that like physical play... look at his shot suppression from 2015-2017 vs Prime Sarich:
Okay, so he played more (and tougher) minutes than Sarich, which has to explain his weak shot suppression... what about vs Regehr
Nope. Regehr was actually really damn good defensively, as everyone knew.
vs the average 3rd pair defenseman:
Hamonic is who the records of his play on the ice said he was. A guy who has historically played a lot of minutes, is solid offensively, but does very little to prevent shots, and shots become scoring chances as we've seen. Who is he comparable out of former Flames?
Him. If Dion were a Flame what would your expectations be? Big name, but he is what he is. Hamonic is what he is too. I don't mind Hamonic because he has a perfectly fine contract and because I think as a whole this team can make it work with him. But let's not optimistically pretend he's going to turn it around all that much.
That's also why the Brodie-Hamonic pair has struggled defensively. Hamonic is what he's been. Also since Brodie is a puck dominant player, you've got two guys on the pair who both want the puck on their stick and are uncomfortable when their partner is the one getting fancy. Stone works with Brodie because he likes to shoot and Brodie likes to pass, so Brodie passes to Stone who shoots.