New Jersey Devils: 3 Pros and 2 Cons For Signing Dougie Hamilton

Pro #2: Hamilton shows the Devils can get a big free agent

There’s always talk that the Devils “can’t sign the big free agent”. Players “don’t want to come here” or they want to play in a “big market”. There are some very specific examples of this. The Devils went after Kevin Shattenkirk, and he chose to sign with the New York Rangers. Obviously, that doesn’t look like a bad move now, but at the time it hurt. Ray Shero said the Rangers offered more money, but who knows what is actually true. Also, the Devils gave a lot more money and a lot more term in an offer for Pat Maroon. He accepted much lower than his value to play in St. Louis (and he’s won back-to-back Stanley Cups, so he’s the winner here).

Hamilton choosing the Devils, even if it’s just because the Devils violently overpaid, shows that the Devils aren’t automatically a non-starter. Even if this is just a perception of the fans, they deserve a win after such a long stretch of terrible seasons. Winning the offseason doesn’t get you much, but with the right moves around it, it could mean something the next season.

Hamilton would have his jersey go up in lights. The owners would pull out all the stops to make his arrival to the Garden State feel like a big deal. They did the same thing for Subban two years ago, so doing it for Hamilton is a no-brainer.

The Devils need a win. They need a win for their fans, and honestly, they need a win for the organization. All the fans talk about is the constant mistakes, the “cheap” owners, the mistakes of the team Twitter account, and the fact that it’s been losing over and over again for close to a decade now. Now, at least they can at least dream of adding talent every offseason after getting the “big fish” in Dougie Hamilton.