Arguably the biggest move of the 2017 offseason among the entire National Hockey League was made by the Calgary Flames when they acquired Travis Hamonic at the 2017 NHL Draft. The draft floor was abuzz, and Hamonic’s arrival automatically heralded the opening of the Flames’ window of contention. Expectations were high for the Manitoba product… and seemingly were completely disconnected from the type of player Hamonic has been since originally joining the New York Islanders in 2010-11.
By the standards of a top-flight offensive defender, Hamonic disappointed in 2017-18. By his own standards – that of a meat-and-potatoes defensive blueliner – he was uneven to start but settled in nicely.