Canucks grant temporary leave of absence for Travis Hamonic

It appears that the blueline situation continues to unravel for the Vancouver Canucks.

On Monday afternoon, General Manager Jim Benning stated that the team has granted a temporary leave of absence for defenceman Travis Hamonic. The news was shared through the team’s official PR Twitter account, with head coach Travis Green also speaking on the matter during his post-morning skate media availability.

Green’s comments were in reference to the reported suspension without pay for Hamonic, which was initially shared by CapFriendly earlier that morning.

Just like the events of Monday morning, it’s been quite the rollercoaster ride for Hamonic since landing in Vancouver.

Hamonic originally joined the team on a professional tryout (PTO) at the start of their training camp back in January 2020, eventually landing a one-year deal to remain with the club for the 2020-21 campaign.

Hamonic faced some injury troubles at the beginning of the year, which sidelined him for 18 games between mid-January and end of February. Fortunately, Hamonic was able to bounce back for the latter half of the season, solidifying his position in the top-four defensive rotation while also establishing chemistry with Quinn Hughes.

He recorded three goals and seven assists in 38 games that year.

As a result, Hamonic was eventually rewarded with a two-year, $6 million contract extension from the Canucks but, as we all know, that’s where the drama really began.

Hamonic did not report to the team’s first day of training camp on September 22nd. At first, it appeared that General Manager Jim Benning was not concerned about the situation, stating that Hamonic was dealing with a “personal matter” that would only keep him away from the club for an extra day.

Hamonic ended up staying in Manitoba with his family, which resulted in the former New York Islander missing the rest of training camp, as well as the full slate of preseason contests.

Hamonic had the opportunity to opt out of the upcoming hockey campaign, but decided to remain with the Canucks organization while dealing with his personal matter. The decision was announced through the team’s official PR account on October 1st, which stood as the league’s deadline for players to officially opt out. This clause was added for players who are currently dealing with personal and/or family matters regarding COVID-19.

Hamonic remained away from the team for the first week of October and, with the commencement of the regular season fast approaching, forced Benning to place him on waivers for the purpose of AHL reassignment.

Benning also joined Dan Riccio, Randip Janda and Satiar Shah last week on “The People’s Show” on Sportsnet 650 to discuss the Hamonic situation, making sure to clarify that the organization did not know of Hamonic’s personal family matter prior to his contract extension.

The interview took place two days after Benning revealed that his team was 100% vaccinated. Hamonic was placed on waivers on October 10th, less than 24 hours before the vaccination comment.

With the demotion to Abbotsford, Hamonic’s cap hit was reduced from $3 million down to $1.875 million. However, the 31-year-old wasn’t named to their opening night roster, either, which confirmed his continued absence from both organizations.

With the temporary leave of absence, Hamonic will not incur a cap hit for the upcoming season. This was also the case for the reported suspension.

This isn’t the first time that Hamonic has made a difficult decision regarding his NHL career. Prior to the start of the bubble playoffs back in August 2020, Hamonic also decided to sit on the sidelines due to his daughter’s respiratory health concerns, which could very much (and understandably) be at play again this time around.

The Canucks are still hoping that Hamonic can return to the team at some point this season, if and when he’s able to.