page_title: Dan Hamhuis
section_title: Nashville Predators
hierarchical_section_title: Dan Hamhuis / Playing career / Nashville Predators
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Der kanadische Eishockeyspieler Dan Hamhuis vom NHL-Verein Nashville Predators beim Training im Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee. English: The Canadian ice hockey player Dan Hamhius, playing for the NHL team Nashville Predators, at a training in the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
context_page_description: Daniel Hamhuis is a former Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League. He was drafted in 2001 by the Nashville Predators.
  Hamhuis played major junior hockey with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League and was selected 12th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The following year, he was awarded the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy and Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the league's best defenceman and player of the year, respectively; he would also be named the top defenceman in the Canadian Hockey League, the governing body of major junior hockey in Canada. After a final season in the WHL, Hamhuis made his professional debut with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League, a minor league affiliate of the Predators. He made his NHL debut the next year for Nashville. After five seasons with the club, Hamhuis became an unrestricted free agent and signed a six-year contract with the Canucks. In his first year with the club, he helped Vancouver to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Boston Bruins.
context_section_description: On July 7, 2002, Hamhuis was signed by the Predators. He was a late cut from Nashville's roster for the 2002–03 season and was assigned within the club's system to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL on October 3. He received a three-game suspension early in the season for an infraction during a game against the Utah Grizzlies. He went on to record six goals and 27 points over 68 games in his professional rookie campaign with the Admirals.
  Hamhuis transitioned to the NHL the following season by making the Predators' line-up out of training camp. He scored his first NHL goal on October 16, 2003, a game winner on the powerplay against St. Louis Blues goaltender Chris Osgood; Nashville won the game 4–1. Late in the campaign, he recorded a five-point night (one goal and four assists) in a 9–4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 4, 2004. He finished the season with seven goals and 26 points over 82 games with Predators in 2003–04. He ranked tied for third in point-scoring and second in average ice time among the NHL's rookie defencemen. Hamhuis was also chosen to the 2004 NHL YoungStars Game, representing the Western Conference in a 7–3 win. Hamhuis helped the Predators make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in his rookie season and added two assists in the club's first-round elimination to the Detroit Red Wings.
  Due to the season-long NHL lock-out, Hamhuis returned to the AHL in 2004–05. Notching 13 goals and 51 points in 76 games, he was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team. He was also chosen to participate in the 2005 AHL All-Star Game for the Canadian team. With the NHL set to resume in 2005–06, the Predators re-signed Hamhuis to a one-year contract on August 16, 2005. Returning to Nashville, he went on to record a career-high seven goals, 31 assists and 38 points in 82 games. He led all Predators players in ice time and ranked second in plus-minus with a +11 rating.
  Following his break-out season, the Predators and Hamhuis agreed to a four-year, $8 million contract on September 21, 2006. He earned $1.5 million in his first year of the deal, gradually increasing to $2.5 million in his fourth. His offensive production dipped to a career-low 20 points in the season following the signing. In 2007–08, he recorded four goals and 27 points over 80 games. Hamhuis scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal in game four of the opening round against the Detroit Red Wings, a 3–2 win. However, Nashville lost the next two games and were eliminated. Hamhuis continued scoring at the same pace in the following two seasons, recording 26 and 24 points in 2008–09 and 2009–10, respectively.
  Hamhuis' role with the Predators was diminished in his final few seasons in Nashville with the emergence of younger defencemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter as the club's top two defencemen. With Weber and Suter providing most of the offence from the blueline, Hamhuis was used primarily as a shutdown defenceman, matching up against opposing team's top forward units and leading the club in shorthanded ice time, while seeing limited powerplay time.
  As it became apparent that Hamhuis would not be re-signed by the Predators following the 2009–10 season, his negotiating rights were traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, along with a 2011 conditional draft pick, for Ryan Parent on June 19, 2010. Hamhuis and the Predators had been negotiating for most of the season, as well as in the summer, but Nashville was not willing to meet his asking price. After failing to agree to a contract with Philadelphia as well, his rights were traded once again to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2011 third-round pick on June 25; negotiations with the club were also unsuccessful.
caption: Hamhuis during a Predators practice in 2006
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