Teams don’t appear to be that interested in Hamonic
Rob Simpson of Vancouver Hockey Now: One NHL executive said that trading for a player that is not vaxxed is “a non-starter.”
The Vancouver Canucks are looking for a US home for defenseman Travis Hamonic. Hamonic didn’t opt-out of this season.
US teams don’t appear to be interested in trading for someone that may only play in two-thirds to three-quarters of their games due to the cross-border protocols. It’s not known if Canucks were willing to add something extra to facilitate a deal.
If Hamonic had opted out, it would have given the Canucks an extra $3 million in cap space to work with this season. They may need to find another defenseman.
“It’s a tough situation, a tough, tough situation,” one NHL executive stated. “Jimmy made a deal, tried to make his team better, and the player decides not to play. People shouldn’t be mad at him, and they really shouldn’t be mad at the player either. Every situation is different and it’s about personal choice. Part of life. But now he’s down a defenceman.”
Answering some Bruins questions
Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic: (mailbag) The Boston Bruins will start the season filling the No. 2 center position internally. If it doesn’t go well, they will look outside the organization.
If they looked at San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl, it would start with a first-round pick and a prospect.
The Bruins will keep the door open for a potential Tuukka Rask return. There is still uncertainty on if/when he could be ready to play. The Bruins aren’t going to trade Linus Ullmark at the trade deadline if Rask has returned. The trade value of goaltenders at the trade deadline is always less than you think.
It’s doubtful the Bruins will go after Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel as there are too many health questions.
Guessing that Patrice Bergeron will sign a one-year contract at $6.5 million including bonuses.