Hamhuis has spent 12 seasons in the NHL as a defensive defenseman, the past six with the Vancouver Canucks, and he's paid the price; injuries limited the 33-year-old to 59 games in 2014-15 and 58 last season, when he sustained facial fractures after being hit by a slap shot in December against the New York Rangers. He had surgery and missed 21 games.
When he returned in early February, there was speculation Hamhuis would be moved at the NHL Trade Deadline, but that didn't happen. Hamhuis said he didn't want to be traded, then agreed to waive his no-trade clause, but only to a few teams. Nothing happened.
Hamhuis has never scored more than seven goals in a season -- he has 55 in his career -- and he's exceeded 26 points three times. But the Smithers, British Columbia native was part of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and showed down the stretch in 2015-16 that he can still play, logging more than 21 minutes of ice time in each of Vancouver's last 19 games and playing his best hockey of the season.
If Hamhuis can stay healthy, he is a solid second- or third-pair defender who leads by example on the ice and in the community.
