There was a point last season where it seemed inevitable that the New Jersey Devils would move Dougie Hamilton. The pressure was so much on former GM Tom Fitzgerald to do something that Hamilton was as good as gone.
Well, it’s August and Hamilton is still on the team. Fitzgerald is not.
But just because Hamilton outlasted Fitzgerald, it doesn’t mean that Hamilton isn’t on the trade block still. The difference could lie in the type of advertising the Devils are doing about it.
To be fair, there doesn’t seem to be any major news about a potential trade involving Dougie Hamilton. The 33-year-old has two years left on his deal, and the Devils have nearly $4 million in cap space. So, there doesn’t seem to be a rush to trade him. But just because Sunny Mehta isn’t necessarily facing pressure to move Hamilton at this point, it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t consider the move.
But there’s another key reason why Mehta would not be overly pressured to move Hamilton. Unlike Fitzgerald, Mehta isn’t willing to give his hand away. If he does, he’ll lose just about any leverage in a trade. That’s why any rumblings might be on the down-low for now.
Devils could actually use Hamilton this season
The biggest reason for moving Hamilton was that his cap hit wasn’t commensurate with his production. However, the Devils could use Hamilton as a right-shot defenseman and partner for Jonas Siegenthaler. Luke Hughes might not be totally ready for prime time, while Anton Silyaev could still be another season away from making an impact at the NHL level.
As such, the Devils would actually want to keep Hamilton this season. Unless the team could find a suitable replacement for him, and hopefully a cheaper one, it would actually be better to just keep the veteran blueliner.
It’s also worth noting that the Devils are not a rebuilding team. The club sees itself as a playoff contender. So, dumping him purely as a cap dump wouldn’t do much for the organization unless there was a solid replacement on the horizon.
Since there really isn’t, trading Hamilton just isn’t a priority at this point. Of course, a deal could happen if someone truly wanted to make it happen. But since there aren’t suitors lining up to take Hamilton’s $9 million cap hit, the former first-round pick could well remain with the Devils for the time being.
But be sure that things could change significantly, especially around the NHL trade deadline.
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