{"id":546765,"date":"2026-01-27T12:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T12:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/546765\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T12:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T12:04:10","slug":"can-red-wings-afford-to-play-hamonic-detroit-hockey-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/546765\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Red Wings Afford to Play Hamonic? \/ Detroit Hockey Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit<\/a> Red Wings should be offering more clarity on the status of injured defenseman Simon Edvinsson<\/a> at some point today. He\u2019s missed the past two games with a lower-body injury. Edvinsson was to undergo further testing once the Red Wings returned home Sunday from their three-game road trip.<\/p>\n

Edvinsson\u2019s availability is vital to the Red Wings as they challenge for the top spot in the NHL\u2019s Atlantic Division. He plays in the first defensive pairing alongside Moritz Seider<\/a>. They munch minutes while opposing the other team\u2019s top units.<\/p>\n

Equally important in the Edvinsson equation is another factor. The longer Edvinsson is out of action, the more that Travis Hamonic<\/a> will be in the lineup for the Red Wings. And that\u2019s been nothing but bad news this season.<\/p>\n

Signed to a one-year, $1 million contract late last summer as an unrestricted free agent, there\u2019s no sugar-coating what Hamonic, 36, has provided to the Red Wings.<\/p>\n

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Travis Hamonic was a mistake. #LGRW<\/a> #Redwings<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 David Maloley (@DM_19XX) January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For the most part, he\u2019s been a liability.<\/p>\n

When Hamonic isn\u2019t in the lineup this season, Detroit is 22-7-3. That\u2019s a .734 points percentage. When Hamonic does suit up for games, the Red Wings are 10-9-2. That\u2019s a .524 points percentage.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s mediocrity. There\u2019s no other way to describe it.<\/p>\n

Hamonic is a minus-10 on the season. That\u2019s second-worst on the team, even though he\u2019s only played 21 games. He\u2019s been a minus in nine of his past 14 games. Hamonic was minus-three on opening night against Montreal. He was also minus-three in a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on November 24.<\/p>\n

Among the 90 NHL players with a rating of minus-10 or worse this season, only Vancouver defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has reached minus-10 in fewer games than Hamonic. Joseph is minus-10 and has played only 17 games.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a career minus-37, which is something, considering that Hamonic is minus-36 since the start of the 2023-24 season. That would suggest there\u2019s been a significant downturn in his outcomes over this span of time.<\/p>\n

When Hamonic is on the ice, Detroit has scored six five-on-five goals. The Red Wings have allowed 17 five-on-five goals. He commits 3.5 giveaways per 60 minutes. That\u2019s the most by any Detroit defenseman.<\/p>\n

Analytics Don\u2019t Bode Well For Red Wings Defenseman<\/p>\n

If you prefer fancy stats to the eye test, well, that data also isn\u2019t doing Hamonic any favors.<\/p>\n

The NHL has Hamonic with an SAT% of 46.1. That\u2019s third-worst on the team.<\/p>\n

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Travis Hamonic is just not an NHL player at this stage of his career. He cannot move against any kind player or team with speed.<\/p>\n

\u2014 \ud83e\udea9\ud83c\udf89 New Year (Same) \u303d\ufe0fario \ud83c\udf89\ud83e\udea9 |#BLM (@NotLuigi89) January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Doing a deep dive into Hamonic\u2019s analytics through the website naturalstattrick.com<\/a>, his Corsi For percentage is 45.41%. That\u2019s 668th in the NHL. Hamonic has been on the ice for 47 high-danger scoring chances against (HDCA). That works out to 2.24 HDCA per game.<\/p>\n

Hamonic is known in the Detroit room as Doc, due to his resemblance to the Old West icon Doc Holliday. However, there\u2019s nothing OK about the numbers that Hamonic has managed to corral this season.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the Wings aren\u2019t about to throw one of their own under the bus. They offer up excuses for Hamonic\u2019s rough ride and intangibles as a reason for his value to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, for Doc to come in, it\u2019s been a bit of a ping pong match with his insertion into the lineup,\u201d Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. \u201cHe\u2019s in, and then he\u2019s out, and he\u2019s in, and he\u2019s out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to him in practice the other day about, when you go back in, here\u2019s the things we need you to do. And he did them. He did them well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Travis, since Game 1, has become a really important part of our team. He just quietly goes about his business. But what you don\u2019t see or hear or maybe even recognize is all the little stuff he does on the bench and in the locker room and with some of the younger defensemen.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery valuable and noticed by the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

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