The Vancouver Canucks are well underway with their training camp, but their defenseman Travis Hamonic still hasn’t joined the team. This sparked rumors that Hamonic will opt out of the 2021-22 NHL season, but according to Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning, this isn’t the reason behind the player’s absence.
Benning shared a statement on social media late last week in which he said the team received a confirmation that “Hamonic will not be opting out this season.” According to the statement, the 31-year-old player is currently at home and is dealing with some “personal matters.”
Hamonic previously decided to opt-out in 2020 after NHL staged a return following a pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He then remained a free agent until January before inking a deal with Vancouver and contributing with three goals and seven assists for the remainder of the campaign.
The Canucks were pleased with what they saw from Hamonic and ended up signing him to a two-year, $6 million contract over the summer. He was expected to be among the team’s top choices at defenseman for 2021-22.
Hamonic previously also played with the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames. In 675 games in the NHL, Hamonic had 40 goals and 158 assists for a total of 198 points.
