The New Jersey Devils' handling of defenseman Dougie Hamilton has raised pressing questions.
The New Jersey Devils healthy-scratched defender Dougie Hamilton after recent reports indicated the team had tried to trade him.
Rumors circulated that the Devils want to move Hamilton, but his ten-team trade list complicates this.
Pierre LeBrun reached out to Hamilton’s agent, J.P. Barry, and asked about his response to the decision to healthy scratch the defender.
“Dougie was informed today he will not play now that Kovacevic is back,” Barry told LeBrun. “This is a business decision, not about his game. Singling him out seems calculated. Dougie has a 10-team trade list, but there have been efforts to trade him since last year’s draft. We’ve told the Devils we’re open to teams outside our list and creative options to find a mutually acceptable team.”
Hamilton is in the fifth year of a seven-year $63 million contract ($9M AAV) that he signed with the Devils in 2021.
LeBrun reached out to Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald following the comments from Hamilton’s agent.
"We just put Nemec back in the lineup Thursday. He's a young player we want returning to form—he had been our best defenseman before his injury. Pesce’s play speaks for itself; he’s staying put. Kovacevic's return gives us the spark we need, and he was our best defensive defenseman last year. That’s what we want now," Fitzgerald told LeBrun. "Dougie is simply the odd-man out with our right side fully healthy for the first time. This is the business of our lineup."
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Hamilton blocked a trade to San Jose this summer. The San Jose Sharks were not among the ten teams he would allow himself to be traded to, and Hamilton vetoed the deal. Friedman mentioned on Saturday Headlines that Hamilton’s decision may change, especially after being healthy scratched.
“The way it’s going now for the Sharks, maybe he changes his mind,” Friedman said. “They’re one of the best teams in the NHL to watch.”
To make matters worse, five other Devils players are represented by the same agency: Simon Nemec, Luke Hughes, Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Thomas Bordeleau, and Jonathan Gruden.
Hamilton did not play in Sunday’s loss against the Winnipeg Jets.
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