The Ottawa Senators have circled back and signed Travis Hamonic to a two-year deal worth $1.1 million per season, bringing the defender back after allowing him to go to free agency. Based on reports, that plan was always to bring him back, but they were waiting for a few other things to unfold before doing so. The Manitoba native player 75 games for the Senators this past year and recorded 21 points.
Hamonic was acquired at the 2021-22 Trade Deadline, and while many criticized the trade at the time, it aged pretty well, and he has been a quality asset for Ottawa ever since. Only costing a third-round pick and costing $3 million against the cap, Hamonic joined the team and was a steady partner for the rookie Jake Sanderson to develop alongside.
His 21 points last season were a solid year production-wise, but his defense was good too. He was a crucial part of the Senators’ penalty kill and provided great support at the blue line in the offensive zone, including his powerful shot to get the puck on net. Having Hamonic join as the team’s seventh defenseman and having the ability to jump into the lineup when need be.
Hamonic Still Fits in Senators Defense Group
While the Senators have built quite an impressive defensive group, players like Hamonic are still valuable, even if he is a rotating member in the lineup. The top four is expected to be Thomas Chabot, Sanderson, Jakob Chychrun and Artem Zub. There is a possibility that Hamonic and Sanderson rekindle and Zub is sent to the third pair, but the expectation is he will be on the third pair or the seventh defenseman.
Related: THW’s Free Agency Tracker
Some combination of Hamonic, Erik Brannstrom, Tyler Kleven and Jacob Bernard-Docker will likely create the bottom pairing for the Senators, and all four of them can bring a quality asset to that group. It will be a battle, but with Kleven being waiver-eligible, it would make the most sense for the other three to be number five, six and seven for Ottawa.
Hamonic seemed to be a great locker-room presence and has stated he wants to be in Ottawa, which is a huge part of the team that the Senators have built. They target high-character players and build a great culture. Hamonic fits in perfectly.
There were earlier reports that Hamonic wouldn’t get a multi-year deal, and this deal was contingent on how much the Senators could sign Alex DeBrincat for, but both of these proved to be false. Getting the second year on the contract was quite surprising, and with the Senators in a cap crunch already, the cap hit is a bit higher than many expected. However, this deal was likely based on the deal that Marc Staal got in Philadelphia at the same cap hit.
There were certainly some occasions that Hamonic’s defending was questionable, but throughout his time in Ottawa so far, he has proven to be quite reliable, and you always know what you are going to get. He provides a steady two-way game and can be impactful at both ends of the ice, and it seems that regardless of where he ends up in the lineup, the oldest player he is likely to play with is Brannstrom at 23 years old. He is a great mentor for some of the younger guys, as he proved alongside Sanderson last year.