The Detroit Red Wings made a couple of moves in NHL Free Agency this offseason. Travis Hamonic, James van Riemsdyk, and Mason Appleton were among the many names to sign as free agents. In fact, the Red Wings also traded for John Gibson in a take care of the Anaheim Geese. There are not any star-level players here. But Detroit believed they improved the team enough to assist it contend for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
To date, its been a mixed bag. Gibson was pulled from his Red Wings debut, and hasn’t played since. van Riemsdyk has had personal issues to take care of, and only made his team debut on Monday. Appleton is on fire, though, having scored twice against the Florida Panthers within the team’s most up-to-date victory.
Detroit is currently 3-1-0 after a disaster against the Montreal Canadiens to open the season. Head coach Todd McLellan made a couple of changes to the lineup after the sport. Overall, though, Detroit has turned in higher performances throughout.
Nonetheless, there may be one player whose exclusion from the lineup couldn’t have provided a more positive impact. Hamonic, like Gibson, has not played since Detroit’s opening game last week. If the Red Wings were smart, that may be his final game within the Winged Wheel.
Red Wings’ Travis Hamonic should never play for Detroit again
Hamonic is within the midst of his first season with the Red Wings. He was a late-summer signing, putting pen to paper on a one-year contract. The thought from the front office was that the veteran defenseman could provide depth on the blueline. He also might have been a mentor to a number of the young defensemen on the team whether he made the NHL or went to the AHL.
His debut with Detroit couldn’t have gone worse. He did make one or two strong defensive plays. Overall, though, the third pairing for the Red Wings was eaten alive by Montreal. The truth is, he and Albert Johansson were the 2 worst players on the ice that night for Detroit.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for Detroit Red Wings on 2025-10-09: pic.twitter.com/C4uc3uvye9
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 10, 2025
Following this game, Detroit made a change. Hamonic drew out for Jacob Bernard-Docker. Almost immediately, the Red Wings saw their third defensive pairing improve. Johansson’s play skyrocketed within the team’s second game of the 12 months, actually.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for Detroit Red Wings on 2025-10-11: pic.twitter.com/PmoYycPg0S
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 12, 2025
On Wednesday night, Johansson and Bernard-Docker once more made a huge effect. They were once more a few of the perfect players on the ice for the Red Wings. The development between their pairing and Johansson’s time with Hamonic is night and day.
The signing of Hamonic was questionable to start with. He didn’t play overly well with the Ottawa Senators last 12 months. The truth is, he hasn’t played well in a couple of seasons. It was a reoccuring discussion about Ottawa trading Hamonic or sitting him within the press box.
Beyond this, Detroit had already signed depth defensemen. Bernard-Docker signed a contract this summer after leaving the Buffalo Sabres. Detroit also had Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson, who could step in from time to time. William Lagesson, signed last summer, also served as a depth option.
Outside of Bernard-Docker, none of those options were exactly ideal. But Hamonic didn’t provide a major improvement to really justify his signing. It is barely one game, but the outcomes speak for themselves. The Red Wings should do their best to trade Hamonic and be sure that he doesn’t play one other game for Detroit again.