Dan Hamhuis’ tenure as a Philadelphia Flyer has come to an end less than ten days after his initial acquisition. Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren announced during the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft that Hamhuis had been sent to division rival Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2011 draft.
The Flyers obtained Hamhuis on June 19 from the Nashville Predators in exchange for up-and-coming defenceman Ryan Parent. Initially, Holmgren had anticipated being able to sign Hamhuis before he entered free agency on July 1, but contract negotiations stalled almost immediately. In an attempt to not lose the entirety of his investment, Holmgren was forced to deal him for anything rather than simply allowing him to walk out on July 1.
For the Penguins, signing Hamhuis could be extremely valuable in terms of both play and team management. Penguins star defenceman Sergei Gonchar and team representatives have been unable to come to an agreement regarding the terms and money for a new deal with Gonchar. Like Hamhuis, Gonchar is slated to become a free agent on July 1.
While Penguins GM Ray Shero obviously says he would love to have both stars on his blue-line come next season, such an optimal result may be out of reach. If the Penguins do sign Hamhuis, the deal will also provide leverage in the Gonchar situation. With another top-tier defenceman on the team, Gonchar will not have as much power in negotiations, or may be willing to take less money to play on a team whose added star power could translate to Stanley Cup glory.
Theoretically it may be simple, but there is still a lot of work left to do for Pittsburgh to sign even one of the two. Shero said: "It all depends on the numbers now, with both Gonch and Hamhuis. First things first is just talking to Dan and seeing what his interest level is and going from there."
Shero’s desire to sign Hamhuis most certainly stems from his time as the Predators’ assistant GM during Hamhuis’ tenure there as a player. Hamhuis, who is an established blue-liner at 27, was drafted by the Predators in 2001 and has played six NHL seasons for the franchise.
Shero praised Hamhuis and said: "Dan is a real solid two-way player, plays against top lines, provide[s] you with a little bit of offence and your second power play. I know he can play a higher role. He is a great kid with great character. He's mobile, makes a good first pass and will certainly strengthen our defence if we can sign him."
Although Shero is rolling the dice, so to speak, on hoping to have both defencemen come next season; he deserves to be lauded for his risk. Given the uncertainty of NFL drafting, a third-round pick is well worth the possibility of establishing one of the strongest defences in the entire League. Even if they are unable to convince both players to sign, it’s nearly unfathomable that they will lose both to free agency.
So in the end Shero will either be the mastermind behind creating a dominant defence on a team that is always dominant offensively or someone who took a calculated smart risk that ended up not hurting his team regardless of outcome.
Shero seems hopeful in achieving the former accolade. He told reporters: "We'll see how this shakes out. They are both unrestricted free agents on July 1, so we certainly have our work cut out. We think Pittsburgh is a great place to play, which Sergei knows and hopefully Dan will find out."
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