New Jersey Devils Free Agent Spotlight: Dougie Hamilton
The New Jersey Devils have been searching for years for a legitimate number one defensemen and with the cap space they have, it is entirely possible they can make it happen. With Seth Jones asking for a trade, he’s still an unlikely option for the Devils as his attention will be with a team primes to win. There’s another option the Devils should look into that would cost a lot less in terms of assets. Dougie Hamilton becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the month.
The Carolina Hurricanes do have some cap room. In fact, they have more than enough to sign their depth players and star Andrei Svechnikov while being able to offer Dougie Hamilton a more than reasonable deal. While it is more than likely that they re-sign him, there is always a chance that since he got past the season without a deal that the team wants to use the money on something else such as a goaltender or some offense to compliment their incredibly strong defensive core. If this is the case, then the Devils should be all over it.
Hamilton was a consistent half-a-point-per-game player from 2015 to 2019. The last two seasons, he has picked up his pace being nearer to a point a game in each of the shortened seasons. His puck movement has always been top-notch which would mesh into the Devils’ system with ease and his two-way ability is a coach’s dream while fans would get behind him immediately. His possession numbers have always been fantastic. They are much higher than anyone on the Devils for years. Even though he has been on good teams, he has been incredible relative to his team as well.
Should he make it to free agency, the Devils should be throwing good money at him in their attempt to get good after so many down years. With P.K. Subban off the books after next season, there is no reason Hamilton could not be offered a seven-year deal worth $7+ million. He is 28 years old right now and would be 35 when that contract expires. He would still have good hockey left to play for the entirety of the deal barring injury.
With Hamilton and Damon Severson locking up the right side and the emergence of Ty Smith on the left, the Devils would be very close to a good defense. All it would take is for one more prospect to take a step and become a top 4 defender and with a top 4 pick themselves this year it would be a very real possibility in a year or two that this happens.