Dan Rosen of NHL.com answers questions from the fans...

Do the New York Islanders trade Travis Hamonic this season or in the offseason?

Offseason. Hamonic himself, at least in front of us in the media, has stated that he doesn't want to hamstring GM Garth Snow or the organization, and that he understands if he has to wait until the offseason to get his wish. If that's the case, unless Snow can get equal return for a top-two defenseman with an extraordinarily good contract, there's no reason to rush a trade that could potentially disrupt the chemistry the Islanders are building.

There's no doubt in my mind that Hamonic's trade request became public recently in order to put the squeeze on Snow. That's business. The media gets used in that regard quite often. But I can't imagine Snow feels too squeezed in this case because he knows he has to do what's right for his team even if he wants to do right by Hamonic.

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