The Ottawa Senators defensemen have had some struggles this season. While Thomas Chabot, Nick Jensen and Jake Sanderson have played important roles, there's one defenseman whose struggles are apparent.
That is Travis Hamonic. At 34 years old, Hamonic has arguably had one of the worst seasons in his 15-year NHL career. Hamonic has only recorded three assists, but his defense has hurt the Senators this season. Hamonic's -11 rating is the third lowest on the Senators.
Some fans have been very critical of Hamonic's play this season, and some would like to see Hamonic be waived or traded. However, there is one thing that is preventing that from happening that some fans may not know.
Senators have to have Hamonic's approval to be moved
Hamonic is on the final year of his contract this season at $1.1 million according to PuckPedia. In his contract, Hamonic has a no-move clause. The Senators can't trade, waive or send Hamonic to the minors without his approval.
When Jacob Bernard-Docker was called up to play due to the injury to Artem Zub in October, Bernard-Docker found early consistency, but was scratched when Zub was ready to play. Some fans wanted Bernard-Docker to stay in the lineup and have Hamonic scratched, but Travis Green kept Hamonic in the lineup.
Hamonic's defense has been criticized this season. In the Senators' second game of the season against the Montreal Canadiens, there was a play in which Hamonic fell down and it allowed the Canadiens to have a scoring chance, but luckily Linus Ullmark prevented a goal from happening.
During last Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lighting, there was a critical play of Hamonic. Instead of playing closer up front to prevent Brandon Hagel to getting room to shoot the puck, Hamonic skated back more defensively which allowed Hagel to get more room to shoot the puck. Hagel sniped a shot past Linus Ullmark to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead early into the third period.
Oh that was pretty 👏 pic.twitter.com/pZiipeVYMt
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) February 5, 2025
Hamonic has played out of position in the defensive zone that has allowed the other team to score goals this season. Despite his struggles and fans wanting Hamonic gone, the no-move clause is a key thing that is preventing Hamonic to be moved.
Luckily for Hamonic this season, Chabot, Jensen and Sanderson have helped the defense big. The Senators have also gotten some growth out of young defenseman Tyler Kleven this season at 22 years old. Kleven has played in all 56 games this season.
If the Senators could move Hamonic, it could allow Nikolas Matinpalo to get more NHL experience. After all, Matinpalo has only played in 22 career NHL games at 26 years old. Matinpalo will get good major experience with playing with and against the best NHLers in the 4 Nations Face-Off as a member of Finland's roster that the Senators hope can help him grow and mature more.