Confirmed with Link: Travis Hamonic has requested a trade Part I

[Renbarg]

Very possible...

Usually when things come out, start with the reasons that are denied.

Like when a player says it's not about the money!

Here they had to say it's not about the team/arena. There had been rumblings players don't like the setup.

Where are the rumblings? These guys are fine. Rangers have the same setup, nearly every team that plays in an urban area has a similar setup.

 

[stranger34]

Its gonna be interesting to find out what is going on here. If someone in his family is eminently terminally ill, take the leave of absence and be with your family, for as long as you need and come back when you are ready. It's not like he is a fresh face kid being away from home for the first time and missing his family. This is just so out of the blue, I am really puzzled as to why this is happening now. I'm definitely not a conspiracy guy but after the shock wore off, something is missing here for me. Even if he missed the whole year, it would make sense for the team to let him take care of his family issue than take a ridiculous discounted offer.

Agree, the pieces don't add up here imo. The isles clearly want him and if he wanted to stay I'd think a leave of absence would be do-able. Strikes me like harmonic has issues with the room or the new location but is being a good soldier.

Personally I hope whatever is going on in his personal life improves, the isles offer him time off and his opinion of staying here improves.

 

[Strummergas]

Agree, the pieces don't add up here imo. The isles clearly wasn't him and if he wanted to stay I'd think a leave of absence would be do-able. Strikes me like harmonic has issues with the room or the new location but is being a good soldier.

Personally I hope whatever is going on in his personal life improves, the isles offer him time off and his opinion of staying here improves.

Reportedly, the trade request was made prior to the season starting. So, you're saying that he wanted no part of the move even before it actually took place?

It's amazing how people project their own personal biases onto others.

 

[Islesin93*]

Where are the rumblings? These guys are fine. Rangers have the same setup, nearly every team that plays in an urban area has a similar setup.

Islanders are the only team where the entire team is taking the train in and spending their home games in a hotel, and the Rangers may have a few players who are doing a similar thing, but they are the Rangers and I am sure most players in the NHL would like to play on them if given the chance.

 

[LeapOnOver]

oh my god...i can't even believe that i'm going to say this but you and i have actually agreed on something. i posted the idea of a paid leave on the trade board. perhaps this will give him time to get his life straightened out and maybe he returns in september as committed to remaining in new york state. if he still needs to be elsewhere next season, the isles have a better chance of getting a better deal at the draft than they do right now.

hell has frozen over today. people are questioning the integrity of a warrior like travis hamonic and you and i are on the same page. absolutely insane.

Must be a full moon or something lol. I've actually agreed with you on a few things in the past but didn't have the stomach to post it

 

[BTrotts19]

Agree, the pieces don't add up here imo. The isles clearly wasn't him and if he wanted to stay I'd think a leave of absence would be do-able. Strikes me like harmonic has issues with the room or the new location but is being a good soldier.

Personally I hope whatever is going on in his personal life improves, the isles offer him time off and his opinion of staying here improves.

I don't think he has an issue with the room or Brooklyn. I do believe it is family related and the long term illnesses, like Alzheimers or ALS would make sense. He's been a leader on the team so it has got to really be personal related plus he wouldn't have limited his request to be west coast Canadian teams.

 

[DktrFaustus]

even if it was brooklyn, i honestly doubt travis hamonic would fake some serious family-related issue. we would just hear that he requested a trade and the trade list wouldn't be so short.

and let's get real, people - he isn't going to get up there tomorrow and straight up lie about something of this matter. you need to get your head on straight if brooklyn has anything do with this.

can we just take what hamonic says at face value? has he ever given us any reason to doubt his character otherwise? this whole conversation is immensely disrespectful to both him and his family.

 

[Renbarg]

Islanders are the only team where the entire team is taking the train in and spending their home games in a hotel, and the Rangers may have a few players who are doing a similar thing, but they are the Rangers and I am sure most players in the NHL would like to play on them if given the chance.

So the islanders are the only team... except for the Rangers. Ok. And it's not a few, i guarantee the majority live up in Westchester, it's simply easier.

I know bruins practice in Wilmington. A good 20 miles from their arena. Same trip during the day as from Hempstead to barclays. I'm sure the players get the day hotels like the isles and rangers do. It's not that unique. They're very well taken care of. It's a non issue.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Mr. Integrity was a joke about people assuming anything about him as a man based on the little we know. And the fact that his agent seems the likeliest candidate for putting this out there. I don't like the position his request puts the team is, and he has a contract. The team has no incentive to do what he asks unless the right trade presents itself.

It's insane for anyone to pretend they know what kind of person a complete stranger is based on an ESPN feature and two minute post-period spots. These are not your friends. We are not little kids, and we do not look up to other grown men. None of us know what these other adults believe in their souls, and we shouldn't care. They owe us nothing; we owe them nothing. You like him because he plays for your team and seems nice; I like him less because he's putting the team in a bad position. None of this is complicated.

Except we have a lot more than the few pieces of evidence you chose to include. Hockey players are under a microscope. We've got years and years of prior coaches and people around him giving their impressions on what kind of character the kid has. I'm not saying I look up to the guy, but in a world where you can take tragedy and persevere, or you can become a drug addled victim, it means a lot when someone does the former because the latter is the norm. You can accuse us of "not knowing what's in his soul", but you can't accuse us of not having a pretty solid idea of his character. Those two are not dependent upon themselves to come to some conclusions.

 

[xIsle]

I would think that other GMs would do this, but not Snow. If the man had us totally guessing prior to drafting Tavares, he ain't giving up any info to no one about Hamonic being on the table. I mean name the last significant Islander trade you knew about prior to it happening...It doesn't happen.

Add in who broke the story...Elliotte Friedman. He is very much a Canadian reporter and I'm very confident Snow does not have him on speed dial - Nor would he share information like this with him in either case. I have little doubt someone in one of the Canadian teams' front office dropped Friedman a scoop.

The only person who usually breaks Islander news when the source is the Isles is Staple, and he was very much in "reactionary/let me check with my sources" mode after the news came out. Snow also knows that this news does not help Hamonic's trade value nor the state of the team, so it would be shocking to me if Snow leaked it.

Even that doesnt make much sense. Why would you alienate yourself to the other GM by "betraying" trades talk just to lowered the value of a player? I don't buy that. It makes more sense to me if it's from Hamonic's agent. Remember Niederreiter's agent?

 

[PK Cronin]

I haven't read through the whole thread, but requesting a trade for personal reasons and demanding a trade because you're upset are two different things.

Hamonic may have said, "I'd like to be moved if possible..." and may not hold a grudge if he's not moved because the value isn't right. I hope he isn't moved, and I hope he doesn't hate that. If he is moved, I hope he does well and gets what he wants or needs, and that the team is able to get real value back.

 

[stranger34]

Where are the rumblings? These guys are fine. Rangers have the same setup, nearly every team that plays in an urban area has a similar setup.

Rangers have the same set up but players didn't have to change into it recently, they were used to it and bought into it from the start of their rangers careers.

 

[stranger34]

I don't think he has an issue with the room or Brooklyn. I do believe it is family related and the long term illnesses, like Alzheimers or ALS would make sense. He's been a leader on the team so it has got to really be personal related plus he wouldn't have limited his request to be west coast Canadian teams.

If it is something like ALS, agree and it makes total sense.

 

[Islesin93*]

So the islanders are the only team... except for the Rangers. Ok. And it's not a few, i guarantee the majority live up in Westchester, it's simply easier.

I know bruins practice in Wilmington. A good 20 miles from their arena. Same trip during the day as from Hempstead to barclays. I'm sure the players get the day hotels like the isles and rangers do. It's not that unique. They're very well taken care of. It's a non issue.

this was discussed in the Brooklyn thread, but I am willing to bet the majority of Rangers are living in NYC.

and as I said, it is the Rangers, I am sure the players are willing to make alot of sacrifices to play for them, the Islanders? I don't think so.

and this is the first I am hearing of the Bruins, are you saying their players are also doing the game day hotel thing?

 

[stranger34]

We probably shouldn't really speculate on personal matters of the player until we know the facts. There are a lot of variables here.

Nothing to this point I can think of evidenced that Hamonic had any problem with the team, coaches, or area. So we really are just left in the dark for now.

 

[islandermaniac]

Wasn't there an issue a couple years ago where Wang put Hamonic on his own jet to fly him back home for some family situation? Am I pulling a roger Clemens and "mis-remembering" right now?

 

[islandermaniac]

Must be a full moon or something lol. I've actually agreed with you on a few things in the past but didn't have the stomach to post it

It was only a matter of time because you came around haha!

 

[NewYorkIsles]

There better be a loud chant yelling "Hamonic" on Friday and signs galore, this sucks. I love hammer, but I understand that family comes first and I respect that. He was really my favorite dman too, damn.

 

[Jiggs]

I wouldn't mind Darnell Nurse in return for Travis: LD with size, nastiness and can skate? Looks pretty good offensively as well. Ditto for Klefbom. Both big LD's which addresses a weakness.

 

[NYI365]

There's now 15 Hamonic threads on the main board.

 

[Lame Lambert]

There's now 15 Hamonic threads on the main board.

I thought he sucks? #4 dman at most.

 

[JohnTonelliRises]

- I respect his decision whatever it may be. Sometimes, players just want out. It could be a combination of things. Maybe he frustrated with the coaching situation, the arena, and he is having some family issues at the moment.

- Maybe it's something completely different that will never be made public until it's impossible to keep a secret.

Stuff happens guys, I wish him well.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

It isn't always about money. Life also happens to guys who make great livings. Hamonic has every right - per CBA - to request a trade. The Islanders do not have to honor this request as he does not have NTC.

Also, the Islanders have every right to trade Hamonic if they so desire. To any team in the NHL of their choosing. Hamonic has zero say.

The Islanders are trying to accommodate a good citizen, employee.

It is beyond me why anyone would critique the kid.

Hamonic strikes me as a kid with high level of integrity and honor. I will take him at his word that this request will lessen strain on a serious family issue. Islanders will go out of their way to try to take care of him to the best of their ability.

I can think of two reasons that would be in his favor in demanding the trade. One is that the story is complete garbage, just like the "didn't like the arena" story which is obvious garbage, and that he's fed up with the circus behind the scenes including the dimestore coaching staff that is expected to lead this club to the promised land. No one wants to be part of a charade. Capuano as a head coach.... that is a charade.

The other is that it is true that this is a personal family issue. What if his mother had cancer or something similar? They are fairly tight considering all they went through after his father passed away when Travis was still pretty young. It would explain why they'd been working on this since the summer. And I wouldn't hold that against him.

I do know he signed a VERY team friendly deal, so friendly his agent probably vomited for a month afterwards. I also know he is a work horse and tries to please the numbskulls behind the bench. I never questioned his work ethic, ever, which is more than I can say about many of our cinderfellas. He's earned enough respect from me to know if he is leaving there is more than just money behind the deal. And then there is his commitment to helping kids who lost their fathers outside of the rink. It is a personal thing for him that he is trying to help others go through that. That is not a small-hearted man. I wouldn't expect anyone who never went through something like that to understand it though, because they couldn't no matter how large their imagination.

Right now though, I hope there is still a chance the decision can be changed. We are a better team with him, and our community is better with him in it.

 

[JohnTonelliRises]

I thought he sucks? #4 dman at most.

He's garbage and overrated when he's not on your team.

He's easily one of the most consistent defenders currently in the league.

I hope he is willing to leave if we're able to get fair value.

If not, then we need to go into salvage mode and craft a deal that benefits us in the long term...

 

[stranger34]

I thought you might be interested in this story from the New York Post.

Defenseman Travis Hamonic seeking trade from Islanders
http://nyp.st/1ORGAZN



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