3 Trades To Make Carolina Hurricanes And New Jersey Devils Better

Everyone knows by now that the Hurricanes allowed the best unrestricted free agent on the market to test his market earlier than everyone else. Dougie Hamilton is allowed to speak with every other team to see if they can give him a better offer than the Hurricanes can. Then, the Hurricanes could get something in return. The Hurricanes were in a similar situation with Adam Fox. He actually refused to sign with the Hurricanes, and he threatened to go back to Harvard and become a free agent. He ended up getting the Hurricanes two 2nd-round picks after all conditions were met.

We’re using that as a benchmark for a Dougie Hamilton trade. Refusing to sign with the Hurricanes and demanding a trade to the Rangers holds the same value as going to free agency in a few weeks. The Hurricanes were able to get a pretty good deal despite being in a position of weakness.

The Devils would love to have Dougie Hamilton. He’s a right-handed defenseman in the middle of his prime. He’s going to cost a ton of money, and maybe he’s coming a little too early in the process, but it’s not like these players are going to come up every season. Hamilton will always bring value, even if he is signed to an eight-year deal. Unless he gets injured, he should always have some value unlike a signing like Kevin Shattenkirk who got paid because he was the best of what was available.

The Devils wouldn’t want to give up two draft picks in the deal, so they switched it with a prospect who is close to NHL ready. Mikhail Maltsev played 33 games in the NHL last season and spent most of the rest of the season on the taxi squad. He’s 23 years old, and he looks like he could be on the bottom line of a contending team every night. The Hurricanes would love to have that in their lineup.