Travis Hamonic has corroborated reports suggesting he has requested a trade from the New York Islanders, confirming it has nothing to do with the organization.
"The root of all this is a personal family matter of mine that I hold dear to my heart," Hamonic told reporters after practice Thursday.
While he would not go into further detail, Hamonic did say he's prepared to play the whole season in Brooklyn if need be, although head coach Jack Capuano and general manager Garth Snow have been eyeing the market for some time.
Capuano said he's known about this for months, he and Snow have talked about players in the West. Life is more important than hockey. #Isles
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) November 19, 2015
Hamonic, selected 53rd overall by the Islanders in 2008, was also quick to praise the Islanders.
"I've been treated like gold ever since they drafted me," he said.
His teammates will continue to have his back while the situation is being sorted out, according to captain John Tavares.
Tavares has no concerns about Hamonic or the #Isles now that word is out. "We're going to support him and he's going to play his hardest."
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) November 19, 2015
Playing hard is exactly what Hamonic plans to do.
"I’ve been playing the last couple months, and there hasn’t been an issue for me," he said. "I’m still a teammate and I’m still someone who wants to play hard and wants to win. That’s not going to get lost in this process. I’m going to go out there and play as hard as I can until I’m told otherwise. Because that’s my job and that’s what I’m going to do.
"Hopefully we talk about this today and don’t talk about it again for a very long time, or until whenever I’m told (of a deal). We’ll try to stick to hockey from here on in."
Hamonic is as steady a right-handed defenseman as they come, and is in the middle of a very team-friendly contract that carries a cap hit of $3,857,142 through to the end of the 2019-20 season.
On Wednesday, Darren Dreger of TSN reported Hamonic "has family concerns in West Canada." Based on this information, it's believed Hamonic, a Manitoba native, would be most amenable to a trade to the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, or Vancouver Canucks, or perhaps a Midwest city such as Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago, or St. Louis.
The challenge now for the Islanders will be getting fair value now that the request has been made public.
