The New Jersey Devils had a lot of offseason plans, and they’ve hit some of their important marks. They re-signed Jake Allen for an incredible cap number to keep their goalie tandem in place. Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov give the Devils much better scoring depth in the middle six. Cody Glass re-signed to solidify the center position, although that still needs more work.
One thing that hasn’t been done is the moves to remove salary cap expenditures. Ondrej Palat and Dawson Mercer have been in trade rumors for weeks. Neither has been moved, but it’s early in the offseason, and the league basically took the July 4th weekend off.
The one name that has been rumored more often than we thought is Dougie Hamilton. The Devils $9 million defenseman would provide a superstar on the right side for many teams, and they have an up-and-coming replacement in Simon Nemec. Yes, they have to deal with Johnny Kovacevic’s injury to start the season, but that’s a short-term issue. Hamilton could be a long-term fix for their salary cap, and he could be an impactful addition for these five teams.
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are possibly the only team in the Eastern Conference that’s selling off pieces. And that might be why a trade works. The Penguins are looking to offload Erik Karlsson’s contract and its $10 million cap hit. Some might say it wouldn’t make sense for the Penguins to move Karlsson just to bring in Hamilton, but the latter has a contract that’s a year longer and could see a quick rebuild to get a better team around twilight Sidney Crosby. Or, they could build around youth and stay competitive in a rough Metropolitan Division. Either way, if the Devils target Brian Rust, Hamilton could be part of the package going the other way.
4. Vegas Golden Knights
The expectation is that the Vegas Golden Knights are done spending after they gave Mitch Marner a $12 million contract. They've already had a huge offseason and have rocketed their Stanley Cup chances. They should be one of the favorites for the foreseeable future with the roster they've put together. One big issue, however, is the right side of the defense. Alex Pietrangelo is out for the season, and his career might be over. Many have the Calgary Flames Rasmus Andersson tied to the Knights, but that trade is proving difficult. Hamilton makes just $200,000 more than Pietrangelo, so the LTIR replacement is right there. Hamilton would likely accept a trade to Vegas because of the extra salary he would enjoy and the contender he would join.
3. Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets still have quite a bit of cap space after missing out on Nikolaj Ehlers. Right now, the Devils could send Hamilton to the Jets and bring back nothing, and the Jets could make it work. They do have Neil Pionk, Dylan DeMelo, and Luke Schenn on the right side, but Hamilton would be an upgrade on all of them. Also, the Jets could send Schenn back to the Devils for added depth, especially with Kovacevic missing time. It also sends Hamilton to a market that isn’t heavy with the media, which is something he’d look for in a new home.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the most intriguing team on this list. They want to make a splash after losing Mitch Marner to the Knights. So far, they haven’t done anything crazy. They made some small improvements to their forward group, but the defense still has holes, and the goaltending still has injury issues. Meanwhile, the Devils could send them Hamilton and be fine. They could either ask for someone in return, but it might make sense for both to go for other trades to fulfill that (the Maple Leafs have too many left-handed defensemen). Still, Hamilton would be such an immediate upgrade, and he could help the Maple Leafs finally take down the Florida Panthers.
1. Utah Mammoth
The Utah Mammoth are trying to make huge moves this offseason, and they did when they traded for JJ Peterka. They also signed a Stanley Cup champion in Nate Schmidt. However, he isn’t the offensive defenseman they really need. Dougie Hamilton would provide them exactly what they need. They want to be contenders in an incredibly competitive Pacific Division. Hamilton would help them get to contention. Utah has the right pieces to make a deal work.