The Dougie Hamilton saga nearly ended much earlier than it began, as it was reported Saturday that the New Jersey Devils nearly dealt the defenseman to the San Jose Sharks before the player exercised his contractual rights to block the deal.
Hamilton, 32, saw a full no-move clause convert to a 10-team trade on July 1, which will remain in effect until his contract expires in the 2028 offseason. The Sharks were, apparently, one of the 21 teams not on Hamilton's list and, of course, were expected to be one of the NHL's worst teams.
That hasn't been the case, as the Sharks are a respectable 18th in the NHL standings with superstar Macklin Celebrini leading the way with his 70 points in 44 games. Celebrini, 19, has 46 assists this season, while the Devils are yet to have a player reach the 40-point threshold.
In his latest "Saturday Headlines" segment, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed for the first time that Hamilton indeed blocked a trade to those Sharks, and that there are hard feelings on both sides of the ordeal for reaching this point.
"One thing we are aware of is that, in the summer, San Jose did try to trade for him, and Hamilton blocked that move," Friedman said of the Devils defenseman. "The way it's going for the Sharks now, maybe he changes his mind.
"There's no question right now that the feelings are very hard on both sides. Losing does that, Hamilton feeling he's being targeted for non-performance reasons certainly does that."
Friedman went on to quash speculation that Hamilton could terminate his contract with the Devils, given that the bulk of his real salary has already been paid, but New Jersey is not going to benefit from that get-out-of-jail-free card.
As for a potential trade return, the Sharks are still just an average team with a terrible defense, and Hamilton would have easily become their best defenseman from Day 1.
The Devils and the Sharks did business together earlier in the offseason when they traded Shane Bowers for Thomas Bordeleau, and the Sharks went out of their way to add salary to their books by taking on the contracts of Carey Price and Ryan Ellis, who are both essentially retired.
Hamilton can still play at a high level, regardless of his benching and the ensuing hysteria, so neither of those trades compares. For what it's worth, former Devils forward Tyler Toffoli plays on the Sharks and is signed for three more years at a $6 million cap hit with full trade protection this season and next.
In any case, though, the Hamilton situation has been brewing for a while and has finally come to a head. Who knows, maybe the Sharks are back on the menu now?