Canucks issue a formal statement on Travis Hamonic

The curious case surrounding Vancouver Canucks defenseman Travis Hamonic just got a bit more curious.

The 31 year old Hamonic was, of course, signed to a two year $6 million contract by the Canucks in the offseason, but did not report to training camp and has subsequently been suspended by the team. Hamonic's $3 million cap hit is now wiped off of the team's books, unless he ultimately returns to the team. While he was initially given a temporary leave of absence and then sent to the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks, the team officially suspended him today and have issued a further statement that... well... it doesn't clear things up much at all.

Here's today's statement from Canucks GM Jim Benning after announcing that Hamonic has officially been suspended by the team:

In the offseason Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reported that Canucks defenseman Travis Hamonic was seriously considering retirement at just 31 years old and the belief around the league is that his reasoning was due to the NHL's vaccine mandate. 

From Dhaliwal:

Still, neither the player or the team have made mention of COVID-19, vaccine mandates or anything else in their statements. In other words, we're speculating here mostly but Dhaliwal is a pretty well respected Canucks reporter and I think that his words likely carry a lot of meaning.

It's also worth noting that Hamonic opted out of the NHL's return in 2020 due to concerns over his daughter who has respiratory issues. Again, we can only speculate as to what this means but I'm certain that his family's health is at the forefront of his decision making.

More from Dhaliwal:

Hamonic was given the option to opt out of the season earlier this month but ultimately chose not to. It was at that point that Canucks fans expected him to suit up and join the team, but that has not happened and today's news confirms that it will not happen for a while still.

“We’ve received confirmation that Travis Hamonic will not be opting out this season," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said in a statement at the time. "He remains at home, dealing with some personal matters. We continue to support him, and out of respect for the situation, we will have no further comment at this time.”

When pushed further, Benning doubled down on the fact that Hamonic is dealing with a private matter and that he won't be sharing the details with the media, no matter how much they push. Again, today's news confirms Benning's commitment to stick up for Hamonic and to keep matters private.

"When we say personal matters, it’s bigger that what you guys think it is. We’re working with him to get him the help he needs," Benning said to Sportsnet 650's Brendan Batchelor earlier this month. Whatever the case is with Hamonic at home, here's hoping that he and his family are healthy and safe. Kudos to the Canucks organization for giving this guy the support that he needs right now.