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$72 Million Defenseman Hits the Trade Market: Fit For the Penguins?
The New Jersey Devils have reportedly had trade discussions with other clubs about defenseman Dougie Hamilton; could the Pittsburgh Penguins come calling?
The New Jersey Devils were eliminated from the postseason by the Carolina Hurricanes in just 5 games in the ECQF, a far earlier than expected ending to their year under coach Sheldon Keefe.
While it didn't help the Devils that they didn't have star forward Jack Hughes in the lineup because of injury, their failure to go on an extended postseason run remained disappointing nonetheless.
Are the Devils looking to free up some valuable salary cap space with a trade this summer of defenseman Dougie Hamilton?
Per NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman in his latest '32 Thoughts' podcast, Hamilton's name has popped up recent trade rumors and that the Devils have spoken to a few unnamed NHL teams.
The next biggest question for the Devils is Dougie Hamilton. He went from a full no-move clause to a partial no-trade. I'm just curious here to see what happens. They paid him his bonus on July 1. I don't have a great feel for it in terms of percentage chances that anything occurs with him, but I know his name was kind of out there a little bit, and I've heard that they have been talking to a couple of teams. So, we'll see where that goes.
Hamilton, who was taken with the 9th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, has 3 years left on his current contract with an AAV (average annual value) of $9 million.
If a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins were to come calling, their current salary cap structure would be able to fit Hamilton, as they currently have just over $15 million to utilize.
Additionally, GM Kyle Dubas said that he's more likely to be active in trades than in free agency.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 6 | 106 ANSWERS $72 Million Defenseman Hits the Trade Market: Fit For the Penguins? Should the Penguins try and acquire Dougie Hamilton from the Devils? | ||
| Yes | 46 | 43.4 % |
| No | 60 | 56.6 % |
| List of polls | ||