He helped Prince George advance to the Conference Finals, scoring two goals and five points in a junior career-high of 13 post-season games.

[3] Hamhuis' third WHL season in 2000–01 saw him increase his offensive production to 13 goals and 59 points over 62 games, eighth in scoring among league defencemen.

[2][4] Hamhuis was ranked by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the second-best North American prospect overall (behind Jason Spezza) and the top defenceman.

[4] Scouting reports listed him as a physical offensive defenceman with excellent skating, passing and open-ice hitting abilities, as well as a good hockey sense.

[3] Hamhuis left Prince George as the club's all-time leader in assists with 123 (he was later surpassed by Blake Robson on January 28, 2003).

[17][18] 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.

Hamhuis scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal in game four of the opening round against the Detroit Red Wings, a 3–2 win.

[22] 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.

[24] 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;[25] negotiations with the club were also unsuccessful.

[26] The Canucks had reportedly tried to acquire Hamhuis previously at the 2009–10 trade deadline, with Nashville asking for prospect Cody Hodgson and a first-round draft pick in exchange.

[28] However, on July 1, the Canucks were one of ten teams to offer him a contract and he signed with the club despite more lucrative deals of up to $5 million in salary and terms of seven years.

[30] After returning to the line-up, he scored his first goal as a Canuck – an empty-netter in the final minute of a 5–3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 13.

After making a pass from behind his net, he received a bodycheck from opposing forward, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, causing him to hit his head on the boards.

Conversely, Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault told media it was a "good hit by a big player" and that Hamhuis "was watching his pass and should have been trying to protect himself.

"[32] Speaking publicly of the injury for the first time 10 days later, Hamhuis said he did not deem the hit "dirty", but "unnecessary", given the "puck was...off [his] stick" and he was in a "vulnerable position".

[34] Finishing the season with six goals and 17 assists for 23 points in 64 games, he helped the Canucks to the best record in the NHL, earning them the franchise's first ever Presidents' Trophy.

On June 1, 2011, during Game 1 of the series against the Boston Bruins, Hamhuis suffered a sports hernia, as well as groin and lower abdomen injuries, resulting from a hip check he delivered to opposing forward Milan Lucic; he was sidelined for the remainder of the Final, which the Canucks would lose in seven games, one win short from winning the Stanley Cup and letting go of a 3–2 series lead in the process.

[36] Prior to his injury, Hamhuis played a significant role in the team's playoff run, forming a shutdown defensive pairing with rugged enforcer Kevin Bieksa.

Hamhuis recorded four goals and 20 assists for 24 points in 47 games in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season as the Canucks finished third in the West before ultimately getting upset in a four-game sweep in the opening round of the 2013 playoffs against the sixth-seeded San Jose Sharks.

Despite an injury-depleted season for Hamhuis individually, the Canucks as a team rebounded nicely as they returned to the playoffs although they would lose in the first round in six games to the Calgary Flames.

On December 9, 2015, during a match against the New York Rangers, his face was struck by a Dan Boyle slapshot, breaking his jaw and resulting in him missing 21 games.

On July 25, 2018, Hamhuis, as a free agent, signed a two-year, $2.5 million contract to return to the Nashville Predators, the team that originally drafted him in 2001.

He had no points in six games of Nashville's first-round playoff series against his former team, the Dallas Stars who defeated the Predators to move on to Round 2.

The following year in Pardubice, Czech Republic, he recorded three points in six games, tying with for Carlo Colaiacovo for the team lead in scoring among defencemen.

[48] Four years later, Hamhuis was named to the Canadian men's team for the 2006 World Championships in Riga, Latvia – his first of four consecutive tournament appearances.

In 2008, Hamhuis and Canada made their second consecutive appearance in the gold medal game, but failed to defend their title in a 5–4 overtime loss to Russia.

Hamhuis scored four points in nine games while ranking second in average ice time among Canadian players, behind Nashville teammate Shea Weber.

[58] He went to provincials four seasons in a row and won the title with his club, the Smithers Storm, in overtime during his last year of minor hockey.

[28] Hamhuis is an owner of the Prince George Cougars franchise; he is part of the ownership group that also comprises fellow NHL player Eric Brewer and a team of local investors.