Devils News
Dougie Hamilton Involved in Devils Trade Discussions | Report
The Devils have discussed Dougie Hamilton in Devils trade discussions.
According to a report, defenseman Dougie Hamilton has been involved in New Jersey Devils trade discussions.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald explained his No.1 priority after the Free Agent Frenzy is to get Luke Hughes locked into a new contract.
However, on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliott Friedman explained Hamilton’s name has been involved in some discussions.
“To me, the next biggest question for the Devils is Dougie Hamilton. He went from a full no move clause to a partial no trade. I’m just curious here to see what happens. They paid him his bonus on July 1st.
“I don’t have a great feel for it in terms of percentage chances that anything occurs with him. But I know that his name was kind of out there a little bit. And I’ve heard they’ve been talking to a couple of teams. So we’ll see where that goes.”
On July 1st, Hamilton’s full no-trade downgraded to a 10-team no-trade list. Hamilton is on the books for the next three seasons at a $9 million average annual value.
The Devils have a plethora of defense, especially on the right side with the late season emergence of Simon Nemec, and presence of Seamus Casey.
Whereas at one point it appeared like the two young Devils blueliners could be trade bait, it now appears the Devils are at least entertaining the idea of clearing Hamilton’s cap hit, which is the highest in New Jersey.
Tom Fitzgerald was adamant about acquiring depth scoring this summer, which he made good on reeling in Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov via free agency, and finally bringing Russian prospect Arseni Gritsyuk over from the KHL.
However, the Devils haven’t yet filled the void left by Tyler Toffoli in the top-six at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. And there is an argument to be made New Jersey still needs a third-line center.
We’ll see what unfolds as time goes on, but perhaps Hamilton has played his last game as a Devil.
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