If a team trades for Hamonic, it's going to be a cap trade. He will not waive to go to the AHL.
The logic of any Hamonic trade would be, yes, he has to stay in the NHL, but the team that acquires him clears cap space by moving a player out for him.
I still suspect that he will end up permanently on LTIR. That Staios is saying the right things publicly, both because it's not productive to say "we all think Hamonic stinks!", and because Staios waxing poetic about Hamonic being a good veteran presence who they are happy to have gives them some plausible deniability when his knee or whatever it was is a bit too banged up to play and he ends up LTIRetired.
People will say, "why would Hamonic agree to that!". Realistically, there is no reasonable way that playing this season is going to prolong his career. Playing in the NHL is both mentally and physically a grind. Also, our room is filled with young hooligans who are obsessed with shoes and hanging out at the market, that probably is annoying considering he is 34. I think it's one of those things where if the guy is hurting from a long career, and knows he isn't going to factor in much, psychologically it's really easy to justify taking the money and retiring a year early if the opportunity exists for him "not to get cleared" at training camp.
Obviously, all just speculation. He could be the most hyper-competitive guy in the world who would never think of staying home when he could earn his rightful place in our top 4...but all I am saying is the idea that he and the team would both be complicit in allowing him to go on LTIR if he is banged up enough to justify it isn't that crazy.