Travis Hamonic Trade Watch: No to Dustin Byfuglien?

The New York Islanders may have been offered Dustin Byfuglien in a potential trade of Travis Hamonic to the Winnipeg Jets, and they may have said no.

That speculation comes from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, who initially broke the news of Hamonic's trade request and has been all over the possible landing spots ever since.

As with last week's rumblings reported by Friedman, this one (hear audio of him on Sportsnet radio) follows the general reasons for a stalemate: If the Isles are essentially forced to trade Hamonic, then other teams aren't going to overpay. But since the Isles and Hamonic are -- for now, at least -- willing to wait for a "fair" hockey deal, then they aren't going to accept a lesser asset.

Byfuglien is a right shot and physical presence from the blueline, but he's also a pending unrestricted free agent. Hamonic is signed to a team-friendly deal for four more seasons.

Friedman's previous discussion of what he's uncovered, or is pretty sure he's uncovered from people willing to talk about trade talks, includes interest from Calgary (but no match) from Edmonton (but they're unwilling to part with Darnell Nurse) and of course from Winnipeg (but the Isles evidently, and thankfully, don't want Tyler Myers, and the Jets don't want to part with Jacob Trouba).

When you step back from the situation, the Jets are a fascinating destination not only because Winnipeg is probably Hamonic's ideal destination (it's closest to his home, which is what stirred the request in the first place) but also because of the trio of right-side defensemen they have: It's a Goldiocks situation where Trouba is too good (from the Jets' standpoint), Myers is too not-good (from the Isles' standpoint), and Byfuglien is too uncertain (he'll either walk or cost lots of money this summer).

In theory, contract negotiations with UFA Byfuglien and pending RFA Trouba could influence how this goes, but it's doubtful the Jets will reach a point of parting with the defenseman the Isles are most likely to want. Each team faces different leverage pressure with their respective players, so this will be fun to watch if Winnipeg is where the Isles defenseman ultimately ends up.