It wasn't easy for Garth Snow to part with Travis Hamonic.
Snow said the defenseman was like family to him, but in need of assets, the Islanders General Manager dealt Hamonic and a fourth-round pick to the Calgary Flames for a 2018 first-round pick and a pair of future second-rounders.
"I think the world of him on and off the ice," Snow said. "Just a first-class player and a first-class person. These deals are always tough to do because there's an emotional element to how he is in our community and the locker room."
Snow Reacts To Hamonic Trade
A crowded blue line and a need to recoup assets led to Saturday's trade