It’s been a rough stretch for the New Jersey Devils. Obviously, losing five games in a row makes it feel like the team is as low as it could go, but it doesn’t help that they aren’t playing well. Despite what the players are saying, we haven’t seen much hope from the players on the ice in the last two weeks.
This stretch of losses has apparently got the ball rolling on trade rumors. The Devils know the time is now to pull the trigger, but they are hampered by a few things. First and foremost, the Devils have to shed salary.
According to Puck Pedia, the Devils are sitting $5 million over the salary cap after they signed Luke Hughes on October 1st. They have been able to overcome this situation by putting Johnny Kovacevic on long-term injured reserve. He’s expected to be out until after the New Year, so there’s still time to make the money work.
However, the Devils are trying to trade for big-money players. Quinn Hughes is making more than $7 million. Steven Stamkos makes $8 million per season. Ryan O’Reilly is making more than $4 million. Even if some salary goes back to them in these deals, it likely won't be enough.
The Devils can’t really afford to trade a star for a star. It just puts them in the same position. Suppose they added Jesper Bratt to the Quinn Hughes trade. In that case, that means they have Dawson Mercer, rookie Arseny Gritsyuk, Timo Meier, and Ondrej Palat/Stefan Noesen/Evgenii Dadonov in the top six. Is that one of the worst winger groups in the league? The same thing goes if they add Timo Meier to any trade.
So, it becomes clear the Devils have to do one of two things: trade Ondrej Palat or trade Dougie Hamilton. Palat appears to have little to no value on the open market, but Hamilton might still bring positive value even with his $9 million contract.
Hamilton wasn’t a “bust” signing by the Devils. He actually is the reason the team is looked at the way it is today. During the Ray Shero era, it seemed like the Devils had to overpay to get anyone to come to New Jersey. Players like Kevin Shattenkirk, Pat Maroon, and college free agent Jimmy Vesey seemed to spurn the Devils in free agency. That isn’t the case anymore, as the Devils are considered a real destination.
The New Jersey Devils are looking to create salary cap space, possibly with a Dougie Hamilton trade
Hamilton was the first player to take that leap. He signed a seven-year, $63 million contract on July 28, 2021. Since then, the Devils signed quite a few free agents, and they had a chance to win those talks. It helps having Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier here, but Hamilton really put the Devils in a new spotlight.
However, injuries changed the narrative here. He played 82 games in 2022-23, and he ended up putting up the best season of his career. He had a career high 22 goals and a career high 74 points. Every other season, Hamilton has missed time with various injuries, including this season. He’s already missed time in 2025-26.
Still, there’s value here for Hamilton, and the Devils know they probably have to say goodbye to the guy who chose them. It’s not easy, but it’s something they have to do to make this team better.
There are complications here. Hamilton has the ability to limit his trade targets to 10 teams across the league. He will likely strategically use those teams to make sure they are undesirable destinations or teams with no cap space. If he does that, then the Devils would have to get his permission to waive it even further. It gives him control of the process.
Hamilton still has something left in the tank, even if he’s not a $9 million defenseman anymore. The Devils sound like they need to make cap space appear to make the big move that makes sense to them. Hamilton is the more logical player to make that happen.