Vancouver Canucks finally provide update on Travis Hamonic

With NHL training camps close to being finished, the question on a lot of Vancouver Canucks fans' minds has been "where is defenceman Travis Hamonic?" Not only has he not been at camp, but reports stated he was not even in Vancouver, and speculation started that he was either going to opt-out of the season or possibly even retire. The Canucks have finally provided an update through its PR account "On behalf of [GM] Jim Benning."

"We've received confirmation that Travis Hamonic will not be opting out this season. 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."

You may recall that Hamonic did opt-out of the 2019-20 bubble playoffs, becoming the first NHL player to do so. A handful of others followed suit. At the time, Hamonic was a member of the Calgary Flames, and said that he "saw what a respiratory virus can do to our healthy little girl and it's something no parent wants or should go through." This was in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and before a vaccine was readily available. Whether there is still concern over the health of his daughter, or Hamonic was actually contemplating his future as a player will likely not be known until Hamonic himself makes a statement. If it turns out he is unvaccinated for COVID, he would not be able to follow the Canucks to any games in the United States as he would need to quarantine on return. Any games he sits because of being unvaccinated would be docked from his regular salary.

Hamonic, 31, played 38 games with Vancouver last season. He recorded 10 points (3G, 7A).