|
I don't know that Hamhuis would give a discount to Vancouver just because he grew up in BC. He and his wife love living in Nashville. I think he'd take a discounted contract here, but it has to be reasonable. He shouldn't make more than Weber or Suter. We still have to make sure we give Hornqvist a raise, though I'm not sold on giving him the $3mil+ that I've seen others predict. One season of production doesn't make a career, and a career year when you've only played one other partial season in the NHL isn't deserving of a huge raise.
I would love to keep Hamhuis around, but we have defensive prospects ready to make the leap. We have one of the best pairings in the league. A cheap veteran defenseman to play with Klein (and possibly someone who has the tools to pry KK's head from his rectum at a moment's notice) should really be enough. Weber/Suter/Klein/Vet can eat up a ton of minutes. This is one of those situations where we might not try to keep him simply because he won't create as much of a hole as losing Horny could potentially open. (Theoretically)
(A quick thought on Hamhuis and Vancouver: Hamhuis strikes me as a private guy. I'm not sure his personality would fit in well with a Canadian team or a team in a larger market with more pressure. However, I don't know him personally, and money can change minds quickly.)
|