Dan Hamhuis at Worlds (and on the Canucks)

[JamesB]

Dan Hamhuis had a good start at the IIHF World Championships. In a 6-1 win over Latvia, Hamhuis had 2 assists, was +2, and was second on the team in minutes played at 19:44

I cannot believe all the talk about maybe asking Hammer to waive his NTC for the Canucks and I have been disappointed that no-one from the team has said "We are NOT going to ask Hamhuis to waive his NTC."

Here are some facts that I think are relevant.

1. Age: Hammer is 32 and will still be 32 when next season starts. That is not old for a defenceman. There is no reason to expect significant age-related decline for next year or even the year after. It will become an issue after that.

2. Size: He is listed at 6' 1" and 209 lbs. That is about average for an NHL D. He is not big, but he is not small either. He does not play a physical game but he does not get pushed around either and has a reasonable number of hits and blocked shots.

3. He was excellent in the Cup Run in 2010-11 until getting injured. In 2012-13 and 2013-14 he was the consensus best D on the team, winning the Babe Pratt Award both years.

4. He was not as good in 2014-15, but he was still very good. According to War On Ice he LED the team in 5 on 5 points per 60 minutes played for a defenceman. His plus/minus was only a neutral 0 but he faced tougher than average quality of competition and had below average quality of teammates. In other words, he played a lot of shutdown and was usually paired with a partner who was not a legitimate top 4 D. Tanev and Edler had the advantage of being paired with each other.

5. Hammer also had a lot more than average defensive zone starts, and he had below average luck as measured by PDO. And he was excellent on the Canucks (very good) PK.

6. Hammer was good enough to play on Canada's gold medal winning Olympic team in 2014 and is in the top 4 on this year's (very good) IIHF world championship team.

7. He is very good in his own end and makes a good first pass.

8. Everyone who plays with him does well -- better than with others. This year, playing with him helped Sbisa (when they played together) and helped Weber. In previous years, playing with him helped Tanev and Bieksa.

9. Hammer's cap hit is a bargain at $4.5 million. He took less than market to come to Vancouver and is still a bargain. Any team in the league would take a solid top 4 D at $4.5 million. And considering the $3.6 million cap hit just given to Sbisa, he is the bargain of the century in terms of performance per dollar.

10. Hammer is from BC and does a great job in the community. He is also, by all accounts, an excellent teammate.

11, Next year there is every reason to expect Hammer to at least as good as he was this year and probably better as he should come back healthy, should have a better D partner (like Corrado or Clendening), and should have improved luck (regression to the mean).

I am very upset that Benning is even letting rumors about asking Hammer to waive his NTC circulate. I hope he has at least talked to Hammer or his agent to let them know that nothing is going to happen.

If Benning does make the mistake of getting rid of Hamhuis my prediction is that the Canucks will miss the playoffs which, I admit, they might do in any case.

[Tortorella's Rant]

What time is the next game?

[desiboynux4lifee*******]

Let's hope he doesn't pull a Bieksa and raises his trade value because with Bieksa staying, sadly he has to be the guy out.

[Mathew Barzal]

The problem isn't that we have one or two oldies on our team. We're basically reliant on a bunch of over the hill players getting us to the show every year. At this point in his career Hammer (while still being effective) should be in a teaching role, mentoring our (nonexistent) defensive prospects and helping them get to the next level.

I like Hammer.

I like Higgins, Hansen, Bieksa and Weber.

But there is no way in hell those guys should be considered a staple on the roster moving into next year. Unfortunately, we have no youth to replace them so they are essentially keepers. Pathetic.

[iinatcc]

Hamhuis will still be good player next season which is why The Canucks should consider trading him since he has a higher trade value than Bieksa.

Hamhuis has always been charatierized as a shut down style defenseman that isn't really that offensively gifted but does all the little things right. In other words it's a role Tanev can fill.

Bieksa still has grit and leadership qualities that can benefit the team and can not easily be replaced. He becomes a UFA next season and I can see him stay with the team for $2 Million, and a $2 Million Bieksa is a good deal IMO.

[RonMexico]

Is he worth keeping even though this team has Tanev who basically makes Hamhuis redundant? Do we really need two top 4 defensemen who both provide minimal offense and hardly crack the PP?

I am by no means demanding he be traded but if the team's direction is towards getting younger, Hamhuis makes for an attractive piece to move.

[Canucks Curse]

Philly, Carolina, Edmonton, Columbus, Phoenix, buffalo, Toronto, SJS, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit

Could all desperately use him.

Hamhuis, Jensen and McNally for O Reilly and 3rd, put him on the wing with Horvat and that's a 2/1B forward line

Sedin Sedin vrabata

O Reilly Horvat Kassian

Baertschi Bonino Hansen

Burrows Ruchardsson Dorsett

That's great 4 line balance

[Brad Marchand]

Is he worth keeping even though this team has Tanev who basically makes Hamhuis redundant? Do we really need two top 4 defensemen who both provide minimal offense and hardly crack the PP?

I am by no means demanding he be traded but if the team's direction is towards getting younger, Hamhuis makes for an attractive piece to move.

According to War On Ice he LED the team in 5 on 5 points per 60 minutes played for a defenceman.

[Canuck Surfer]

As much as they have a good development program; the Wings for 20 years had a way of keeping their own & accumulating "past their prime" vets at good rates. And they played them in reduced roles, but that extended the careers of many guys. And then they had fresh legs in reduced roles, and were more dynamic with the time they were on the ice.

Larry Murphy

Brett Hull

All the Russians

Robitaille

Chelios

Lidstrom played till he was 43

etc

etc

The key is the correct rate on the next contract.

[UFCanuck]

As much as they have a good development program; the Wings for 20 years had a way of keeping their own & accumulating "past their prime" vets at good rates. And they played them in reduced roles, but that extended the careers of many guys. And then they had fresh legs in reduced roles, and were more dynamic with the time they were on the ice.

Larry Murphy

Brett Hull

All the Russians

Robitaille

Chelios

Lidstrom played till he was 43

etc

etc

The key is the correct rate on the next contract.

Wasnt hard for them, that was the non-Salary Cap era.

[Time Lord]

I like Weber.

Lol what. I thought you hated him.

[BeefcakeBo]

Yeah not a chance that Hammer is traded unless we get a big overpayment, or offer we just can't say no to.

He's still the best D man on the team, not as effective as Edler on offense but much better on Defense. His contract is not bad at all, and Linden and Benning have made it clear that the team is not tanking.

When his contract expires I expect he will also be re-signed to another shorter contract in the 3.5m range.

If the canucks were going to trade away a dman they need to move Tanev whose value is high and can bring back an decent top 6 forward at a similar age. It's really probably our only option because Hammer, Bieksa, and Edler all have multiple years of NTC left.

[Hunter_74]

I am an Avid Hamhuis Defender, i always defend him whenever people talk ill of him. Love the guy, hope he never gets traded.

[Hunter_74]

Dan Hamhuis had a good start at the IIHF World Championships. In a 6-1 win over Latvia, Hamhuis had 2 assists, was +2, and was second on the team in minutes played at 19:44

I cannot believe all the talk about maybe asking Hammer to waive his NTC for the Canucks and I have been disappointed that no-one from the team has said "We are NOT going to ask Hamhuis to waive his NTC."

Here are some facts that I think are relevant.

1. Age: Hammer is 32 and will still be 32 when next season starts. That is not old for a defenceman. There is no reason to expect significant age-related decline for next year or even the year after. It will become an issue after that.

2. Size: He is listed at 6' 1" and 209 lbs. That is about average for an NHL D. He is not big, but he is not small either. He does not play a physical game but he does not get pushed around either and has a reasonable number of hits and blocked shots.

3. He was excellent in the Cup Run in 2010-11 until getting injured. In 2012-13 and 2013-14 he was the consensus best D on the team, winning the Babe Pratt Award both years.

4. He was not as good in 2014-15, but he was still very good. According to War On Ice he LED the team in 5 on 5 points per 60 minutes played for a defenceman. His plus/minus was only a neutral 0 but he faced tougher than average quality of competition and had below average quality of teammates. In other words, he played a lot of shutdown and was usually paired with a partner who was not a legitimate top 4 D. Tanev and Edler had the advantage of being paired with each other.

5. Hammer also had a lot more than average defensive zone starts, and he had below average luck as measured by PDO. And he was excellent on the Canucks (very good) PK.

6. Hammer was good enough to play on Canada's gold medal winning Olympic team in 2014 and is in the top 4 on this year's (very good) IIHF world championship team.

7. He is very good in his own end and makes a good first pass.

8. Everyone who plays with him does well -- better than with others. This year, playing with him helped Sbisa (when they played together) and helped Weber. In previous years, playing with him helped Tanev and Bieksa.

9. Hammer's cap hit is a bargain at $4.5 million. He took less than market to come to Vancouver and is still a bargain. Any team in the league would take a solid top 4 D at $4.5 million. And considering the $3.6 million cap hit just given to Sbisa, he is the bargain of the century in terms of performance per dollar.

10. Hammer is from BC and does a great job in the community. He is also, by all accounts, an excellent teammate.

11, Next year there is every reason to expect Hammer to at least as good as he was this year and probably better as he should come back healthy, should have a better D partner (like Corrado or Clendening), and should have improved luck (regression to the mean).

I am very upset that Benning is even letting rumors about asking Hammer to waive his NTC circulate. I hope he has at least talked to Hammer or his agent to let them know that nothing is going to happen.

If Benning does make the mistake of getting rid of Hamhuis my prediction is that the Canucks will miss the playoffs which, I admit, they might do in any case.

Thank you sir for giving Hamhuis some of the Credit he deserves. +1

[Phil_314]

I don't think Hammer was ever the biggest problem on the back end. Sure with age he did look slower against teams like Tampa and Dallas (everyone does though) but he was also carrying lesser partners (Juice, Pizza, Webs). However, as recently as last season he was the linchpin on the shutdown pairing with Juice, and I'd think he still has it for the time being. There's a reason why Team Canada has gone back to him in recent tournaments (Olympics, W.H.C. now) and that's because he's worth it. He's got the size, skill and mobility of a Top-4 D-man. As the consummate professional, character hockey player and all-round good guy he's worth every penny of his current deal, and hopefully we could still have his services in a Willie Mitchell-style, mentor signing.

Also I don't think that J.B. would ask him to go, since he's a valuable depth (as a 3rd defense-man) player at that price, and Tanev doesn't bring the physicality that Hammer does, at least not yet. I hope that J.B. brings in a big-minute offensive D-man to play with him, maybe even someone who would take some risks since Hammer can mop up after him and both of the Top-4 pairings can play upwards of 20 mins, since if we're retooling it'd be best to keep the most competitive guys. If we do decide to move him over Juice because he's got more trade value, 1) we'd better be getting a heck of a young D-man back, and 2) Juice and/ or Pizza (God forbid both) better be ready to play steady. I'd be down if Pizza and Karate Kid played well together and formed a new 2nd pairing and then Juice becomes the safety blanket for the young puck-mover acquired for Hammer.

[RonMexico]

Brad Marchand, on 01 May 2015 - 4:19 PM, said:

According to War On Ice he LED the team in 5 on 5 points per 60 minutes played for a defenceman.

And in the playoffs his p60 5x5 was second to Luca Sbisa but no one on CDC wants to keep Sbisa.

Ryan Stanton held a P60 5x5 of 0.78 to Hamhuis' 0.80 in the regular season. Where did that get Stanton?

[-AJ-]

Is he worth keeping even though this team has Tanev who basically makes Hamhuis redundant? Do we really need two top 4 defensemen who both provide minimal offense and hardly crack the PP?

I am by no means demanding he be traded but if the team's direction is towards getting younger, Hamhuis makes for an attractive piece to move.

Don't get misled by the 1 goal this year. Assists are just as much offense as goals, especially for defensemen. Hamhuis was 2nd on the team in points among defensemen. He's not an offensive dynamo, but he's got enough to be considered a two-way defenseman rather than just a defensive d-man.

[jdatb]

Ideally we would have dropped Sbisa and Bieksa, and gotten someone to play with Edler.

Edler-xxx

Hamhuis-Tanev

Stanton-Corrado

I wish.

[Erik Karlsson]

With that stupid Sbisa signing, one of Hamhuis or Bieksa need to be moved as I don't see Edler or Tanev being traded.

We can't have that much cap tied to our defense, especially when it's our weakest point imo.

[ShakyWalton]

The problem isn't that we have one or two oldies on our team. We're basically reliant on a bunch of over the hill players getting us to the show every year. At this point in his career Hammer (while still being effective) should be in a teaching role, mentoring our (nonexistent) defensive prospects and helping them get to the next level.

I like Hammer.

I like Higgins, Hansen, Bieksa and Weber.

But there is no way in hell those guys should be considered a staple on the roster moving into next year. Unfortunately, we have no youth to replace them so they are essentially keepers. Pathetic.

have to agree..I cant see where all the changes are going to occur..I dont think any of us could stand to see the Canucks ice almost the same team as this year.