On the recent 32 Thoughts Podcast, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman suggested that the New Jersey Devils are listening to teams asking about right-handed defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton famously signed a seven-year deal in the 2021 offseason, at a $9 million cap hit. Since then, Hamilton has become the organization's best offensive defenseman since Brian Rafalski.
In the four seasons since joining the Devils, Hamilton ranks 10th in franchise history in points scored among defensemen. He would be higher on the list if he had not missed a majority of the 2023-24 season due to a torn pectoral muscle and a lower-body injury this past season. He has 160 points in 228 games played, making him one of the highest points-per-game defensemen in franchise history.
His offensive pedigree alone should keep him in New Jersey for the immediate future. When healthy, no one on the Devils' back end can produce like Hamilton. Luke Hughes has back-to-back 40-point seasons, but he is a left-handed shot. The Devils would still need some offense on the right side, something they would not get from Brett Pesce and Jonathan Kovacevic.
Dougie Hamilton is worth much more to the Devils than he is in a trade
Currently, the Devils are too defensive-minded on defense. Hamilton and Hughes are the only true offensive-minded defensemen who are NHL regulars. Seamus Casey is capable, but he still has several flaws in his defensive game that need to be addressed. Simon Nemec has yet to demonstrate consistency enough to remain in an NHL lineup. You need offensive creativity on your backend to help score goals.
If the Devils remove Hamilton from the equation, the right side has more questions than answers heading into the season. While it would be a massive relief to move Hamilton's $9 million cap hit, with Kovacevic projected to miss the start of the season the Devils right side would be Pesce, Nemec, Casey.
Without Hamilton, the Devils could not do much offensively on defense as the year went on, and the goal output was virtually nothing. Until Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec find their way into a consistent and dependable role on defense, Hamilton should be on the New Jersey Devils.
According to PuckPedia, there are six right handed defenseman to play an NHL game last season still on the free agent market. David Savard retired and he was the only one out of the six to score more than 10 points last season. The Devils cannot replace Hamilton in a trade without giving something up, which makes no sense to give up picks and prospects for something you already have on your roster.
It may take another year for Casey and Nemec to step up into those roles. Maybe after this season or at the trade deadline, the Devils can visit a Hamilton trade. Until then, he is not the one on the team with the high cap hit that should be moved on. Trading Hamilton would put the Devils at a significant disadvantage in terms of production on defense. Something they cannot afford.