from Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province,

The Canucks’ lack of interest in re-signing Hamhuis ranks as one of the more peculiar decisions of the Trevor Linden-Jim Benning era. But they were spot on when they traded Kevin Bieksa, so maybe they’ll be proven right again. Until then, here are the five reasons the Canucks will regret letting Hamhuis go:

1. He’s still really good.

This is all you need to know about Hamhuis: He was the Canucks’ second-best defenceman. The team averaged 4.25 more shot attempts per hour when he was on the ice at even strength compared with when he wasn’t. No Vancouver defenceman averaged more.

Oh, and with Hamhuis, the Canucks’ opponents averaged 3.89 fewer shot attempts per hour. That was good enough to finish second in shot suppression to Chris Tanev. This was good.

The team went from an average defensive team when he first got hurt in early December to one of the worst in the league.

There is no getting around this fact. The Canucks’ defence right now would be better with Hamhuis signed.

more