Should the Canucks trade or extend defenceman Travis Hamonic?

Should the Vancouver Canucks look to extend defenceman, Travis Hamonic, or should they dangle him in the eyes of a Stanley Cup contender at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline?

The St. Malo Manitoba native has been the defensive partner to Vancouver’s all-star blueliner, Quinn Hughes, and over the past three weeks since returning from injury, he’s done a fine job in filling the role.

Together, the duo hasn’t been amazing (maybe not even as good as Hughes and Chris Tanev were one year ago), but they’ve remained solid and they’ve played their part in helping the Canucks stay alive in the playoff race. Hamonic likes what he sees in the pairing.

“I feel my game can complement [Hughes]. I try to play a heavy game down low and make the right reads on breakouts and the defensive side of the puck. Communication is a big thing in this league and so is chemistry, and we’ve been building that of late,” said Hamonic.

Holding a current record of 14-16-2 with 24 games remaining in the regular season, time is starting to become a factor. The trade deadline comes into place on Monday, April 12th, and by then the Canucks will have just 13 games left to play.

11 games take place between now and then, and that’s a good window of time for the Canucks to gauge what type of team they want to be at the deadline this year. Will the Canucks be sellers or will they hold on to assets in hopes of a playoff push?

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In any scenario, no matter which way you slice it, Hamonic makes for an interesting case. The top-four defender is exactly that, and he might just be the Canucks’ biggest trade chip right now. The reason being, he comes at an extremely good price — a team-friendly $1.25 million — that would have contending teams drooling from the mouth.

The “steal of a deal” the Canucks got on Hamonic is because of two key factors: The pandemic did not help his value and his high interest to only play hockey in Western Canada gave Vancouver an extreme advantage when it came to working out a deal.

Now, just half a season later, the same questions remain… How badly does Hamonic want to remain out west, and how much of that truly factors into the dollar value of his next contract? COVID-19 played a huge role in his $2,607,143 pay cut, but it still makes you wonder how many lost dollars would factor into his narrow list of playing destinations.

Hamonic is more than likely expecting a raise next season, but he’s also been vocal about his desire to remain in Vancouver.

“I’d love it. When we decided on Vancouver, we looked at it as a long-term situation of where we wanted to be for my career and family. I’ve loved every second of it and it’s been a good fit. Hopefully, something can transpire and make it work.”

There are so many factors weighing in on this situation, so what should the Canucks do? If the price is right and a team is interested at the deadline, Jim Benning has to do what he can to bring in some future assets, especially if the playoffs are a lost cause.

But if a playoff push is in the cards along with a discounted new deal, then Benning should hold on to the 30-year-old right-shot. Especially after you consider the fact that behind the $6 million Tyler Myers, there really isn’t much depth on Vancouver’s right side.

Then there is the whole possibility of Myers getting scooped up by the Seattle Kraken in the upcoming Expansion Draft. Vancouver simply can’t afford to lose their only capable right-handed defenceman if they don’t have Hamonic already extended.

The sand in the hourglass continues to trickle down and the Canucks still have so many things to consider and figure out. Hopefully, Benning can ditch the “day-to-day” approach and come up with a real gameplan.

What do you think Canucks Nation? Should the Canucks extend Hamonic to a long-term contract?