New Jersey Devils appear to be benching struggling $9 million defenseman

The New Jersey Devils are seeing their season slip through their hands. After starting the season as one of the best teams in hockey, they’ve been one of the worst since the start of December. Injuries and turmoil in the rumor mill have this team in a bad place. Nothing is working in terms of motivation and response. 

It’s up to head coach Sheldon Keefe to make this roster work. It’s clear no trade is coming, and they’ve gotten pretty much all of the important players back from injury. After a 9-0 loss to the New York Islanders, most thought the Devils would show some fight. They ended up losing the next game in pretty embarrassing fashion. 

The Devils have scored one goal or less in each of the past three games and eight of the past 12. The offense is not doing its job; plain and simple. 

One of the players who is supposed to drive that offense is Dougie Hamilton. The veteran blueliner has 10 points in 40 games this season. He’s on pace for fewer than 20 points this year. The only time that’s happened is in 2023-24, when he had 16 points in 20 games before suffering a torn pectoral muscle, and his rookie season. 

Hamilton has not been good. On top of that, he’s been taking a ton of injuries. He has 30 penalty minutes in 40 games. He had 30 penalty minutes last season in 64 games. He’s playing a careless and off-putting game this season.

Many believe the trade rumors are starting to get to Hamilton. Since the offseason, every insider claimed that the Devils were trying to offload Hamilton’s contract. After committing to this team for seven seasons, it has to be an emotional hit when that team wants out of the contract. It’s also one thing to see your name in rumors, but those same rumors say the Devils tried to trade him and he vetoed it. 

Hamilton has a no-trade clause that can block a move to 21 teams in the league. It sounds like he’s used those privileges that he negotiated into his contract.

After a lot of controversy, it looks like the Devils are making a drastic move and benching Hamilton for their next game against the Winnipeg Jets. It appears that Johnny Kovacevic is ready to return, and he’s taking Hamilton’s spot in the lineup.

Kovacevic plays a completely different game than Hamilton, but he was an elite defender when he was last in the lineup. Him and Jonas Siegenthaler were one of the best shutdown pairs at times last season. Obviously, the Devils’ biggest problems come on the offensive end, but they still have defensive problems, as well.

Is this the end of the Hamilton-Devils relationship, or is Keefe trying to give his $9 million defenseman a moment to reflect and see the game from a different angle? Players are struggling across the lineup, and maybe this sends a message. Either way, it’s something, and the Devils have been begging for something for weeks.