Dan Hamhuis - Will test FA; "We're still working through things, so we'll see"

[Hemty]

Ah, well, sad to see him go. But business is business. One of my favorites in terms of demeanor, how he carried himself, and just his calm play in general. Wish him nothing but the best.

 

[clunk]

I really want to see him win a cup.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

I hope he signs a cheap deal with a contender.
But we all know that he'll sign a fat contract with Arizona

 

[biturbo19]

Doesn't sound promising for him returning at all. The notion of him taking a significant hometown discount type contract to stay was really the last vestige of real hope of that front.

Would still really like him back as extra depth and insurance with a very young and unproven 2nd pairing. But oh well.

 

[pitseleh]

“There are a couple of differences,” he said by phone from B.C. on Wednesday. “Right off the hop, Nashville made it clear they weren’t going to pay the money I was going to be getting. They wished me good luck and thanked me for a great nine years. This was a little different. The Canucks mentioned numerous times since last July that we would talk about a contract extension. We were excited about it right up to beginning of June. That’s when we were led to believe an extension was probably not coming. There’s always a chance it could work out, but its pointing towards their priority is a high-profile forward or two.”

That's pretty bush league. Have to think that was a factor in his hesitancy to waive at the deadline.

 

[y2kcanucks]

That's pretty bush league. Have to think that was a factor in his hesitancy to waive at the deadline.

Have to think all of this adds up and prominent UFA's decide to avoid signing with Vancouver.

 

[Shareefruck]

Hamhuis is still currently a better defenseman than Hutton or Gudbranson.

 

[Nuckles]

Keep on bleeding those assets, Jimbo. Overpay to acquire a worse d-man than a guy who wants to stay here, meanwhile letting that guy walk for nothing.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Have to think all of this adds up and prominent UFA's decide to avoid signing with Vancouver.

Best case scenario

 

[TruGr1t]

Friedman taking some more nice shots at the Canucks management. This is getting comical.

 

[I am toxic]

Couldn't agree more, I've had to repeat it myself many times.

So many people in this thread and in the Hamhuis thread in the Trades/Rumors section keep spouting off about how he's done or he's not a top-4 D anymore or it's time to move on because he's not the player he once was.

What the hell? There's nothing that shows he isn't still effective at a top-4 rate. People are so optimistic about our D that they are willing to let go of a guy who can anchor a 2nd pairing and still try to make the playoffs?

I love Hutton's potential but he still has a ton to prove, Gudbranson is a career #5 and Tryamkin also has great potential but we don't know if he'll ever be anything more than a 5/6.

If people think we should cut ties with Hamhuis just because of age or changing the core reasons, fine. But to say he's not good anymore is baseless. He had a tough stretch at the start of the season last year and people can't get it out of their minds.

Unless he takes another step back next season or Hutton takes a big leap forward, he's still our 3rd best D-man.

Exactly this. Hammer was a solid top 4 D-man last year, anyone who has played with a weak partner a la 15-16 Weber knows how difficult it is do your own job while covering for someone else, all while not screwing up the system/positioning that the forwards are relying on.

But it is no surprise the homerism being exhibited. No longer in a Canucks jersey? - garbage player who is a cancer in the dressing room. Newly acquired player that another team sees as a cap dump? - the second coming. Can be seen in posts praising a player one day, then blasting him the next day when traded (see Kassian, McCann).

Goes along with it will be a great trade if <insert name of career 4th liner acquired for a 1st round pick> quadruples their point production for the next 5 seasons, and when they sign said 4th liner to a $20M contract - cap space doesn’t matter.


And of course there is the old standby wait and see how it plays out, don’t criticize the GM for picking his pet dachshund in the 7th round – Gherkin may put up 15-15 next season (and if not we can flip him for a 2nd rounder). Which inevitably is followed by he’s an NHL GM making millions, he must know better than us (yes, a Norris caliber D past his prime is worth just as much as a Norris caliber D entering into his prime).

 

[BloatedGuppy]

But it is no surprise the homerism being exhibited. No longer in a Canucks jersey? - garbage player who is a cancer in the dressing room. Newly acquired player that another team sees as a cap dump? - the second coming. Can be seen in posts praising a player one day, then blasting him the next day when traded (see Kassian, McCann).

Goes along with it will be a great trade if <insert name of career 4th liner acquired for a 1st round pick> quadruples their point production for the next 5 seasons, and when they sign said 4th liner to a $20M contract - cap space doesn’t matter.


And of course there is the old standby wait and see how it plays out, don’t criticize the GM for picking his pet dachshund in the 7th round – Gherkin may put up 15-15 next season (and if not we can flip him for a 2nd rounder). Which inevitably is followed by he’s an NHL GM making millions, he must know better than us (yes, a Norris caliber D past his prime is worth just as much as a Norris caliber D entering into his prime).

Well...

1) It absolutely should be of no surprise to encounter "homerism" on the home fan boards for a sports franchise. What were you expecting, exactly?

2) Thanks to the current state of affairs and this forum's liberal policy on "venting", the Canuck boards are significantly less "homerish" than those of virtually any other team.

3) That sequence of contradictory statements you're proud to have identified likely all came from a wide variety of different people. Likewise, polarized/biased thinking isn't the sole province of "homers". It's essential human nature. The people who should be worried are the people who think they never engage in it.

On Hamhuis...sad to see him go, but he'd be an odd fit with the team at this point in its transition. The obvious/popular interpretation of events is that the front office is full of capering idiots who don't know what they're doing from one minute to the next. There's been enough rumblings of different elements of ownership/management not being on the same page that I wonder if it's not symptomatic of an organization with a bunch of internal crossed signals at the moment. Something has to give eventually.

 

[coldsteel79]

Hamhuis the last month of the season was great, but unless Sbisa or edler are dealt there is no room for him, now if they could deal edler or Sbisa I'd love to keep him.

 

[Cupless44]

Hamhuis is still currently a better defenseman than Hutton or Gudbranson.

Hmmmmm pretty debatable. A few short memories here that are forgetting he was pretty awful for most of last year before he was injured. At 33 he won't be improving either.

 

[Proto]

That's pretty bush league. Have to think that was a factor in his hesitancy to waive at the deadline.

Yup. That's why more than a few of us were saying he and Vrbata should have been dealt last summer -- and, if not, the wheels should have been greased for the deadline this year.

More inexcusably poor asset management. It's also a rotten way to treat a guy that did exceptional work in Vancouver.

I'd also be comfortable saying he's still better than Gudbranson.

 

[Proto]

Hmmmmm pretty debatable. A few short memories here that are forgetting he was pretty awful for most of last year before he was injured. At 33 he won't be improving either.

Bring him back, trade him at the deadline, keep McCann and your 33rd pick.

I guess we can revisit this in a year or so and see what people think of Gudbranson.

 

[M2Beezy]

Hamhuis is still currently a better defenseman than Hutton or Gudbranson.

Better then Hutton? Thats a brutal lie

Hamhuis has to go after the crap he pulled at the TDL no interest in him at all any more

 

[Hit the post]

Hamhuis has to go after the crap he pulled at the TDL no interest in him at all any more

From Friedman's 30 thoughts:

11. Looks like Dan Hamhuis is going to free agency for the first time since 2010.

“There are a couple of differences,†he said by phone from B.C. on Wednesday. “Right off the hop, Nashville made it clear they weren’t going to pay the money I was going to be getting. They wished me good luck and thanked me for a great nine years. This was a little different. The Canucks mentioned numerous times since last July that we would talk about a contract extension. We were excited about it right up to beginning of June. That’s when we were led to believe an extension was probably not coming. There’s always a chance it could work out, but its pointing towards their priority is a high-profile forward or two.â€

Exactly WHO was pulling the crap?

 

[thecupismine]

Letting Hamhuis go after what happened at the deadline in unequivocally stupid, especially with management's mantra of "win now." Its even stupider when you look at the current state of our defense and assume it will be adequate without him. The only thing this helps with is tanking, and even on that front its dumb as it would've been smarter to either a) move him at the deadline, or b) trade Edler and re-sign Hamhuis in the same role. Hamhuis has been a great foot soldier, and by all signs was really looking forward to coming back. In return, management stringed him along and pulled the plug without explanation, which is just bush league, especially to a guy who took such a significant discount to come home.

 

[kanucks25]

Hmmmmm pretty debatable. A few short memories here that are forgetting he was pretty awful for most of last year before he was injured. At 33 he won't be improving either.

People did a good job of remembering Hamhuis's mistakes while completely ignoring Hutton's, of which there were plenty. He was a fun, new, shiny toy that showed promise and people didn't want to believe there were some issues there.

Granted, Hutton's were likely do to inexperience and will probably (hopefully) decrease, but it may not be as early as next year. Heck, it's not unusual for young players to have great seasons one year and be terrible the next.

 

[wonton15]

Better then Hutton? Thats a brutal lie

Hamhuis has to go after the crap he pulled at the TDL no interest in him at all any more

It's not a lie, Hamhuis is still way better than Hutton at this point. And what crap did he pull exactly?..

 

[Snatcher Demko]

He'll sign a 4 year deal with someone, and it will be 2 years too much.

We already have a bad deal with Sbisa, there's no need to add another.

Love the guy but this is a rare good decision by Benning.

 

[PG Canuck]

Better then Hutton? Thats a brutal lie

Hamhuis has to go after the crap he pulled at the TDL no interest in him at all any more

What crap did Hamhuis pull? He stated it mattered at the deadline on which teams he wanted to go too..he earned that right.

 

[PM]

Letting Hamhuis go doesn't make sense whether we are rebuilding or going for the playoffs. It's just a stupid move and the only reason behind it I can think of is "change is coming." Jimbo wants to put his mark on the team regardless of how terrible he makes it in the process.

 

[Intangibos]

Better then Hutton? Thats a brutal lie

Hamhuis has to go after the crap he pulled at the TDL no interest in him at all any more

What?

He said he wanted to go to a contending team, as in one of the top teams and not an 8th seed type thing. We could have moved him to Chicago or Dallas where he was willing to go but management screwed the pooch. There is literally zero reason at all to be upset with Hamhuis, he didn't block a trade.