Dougie Hamilton Becoming Trade Candidate For Devils

The Devils are taking calls on Dougie Hamilton in the trade market

The New Jersey Devils have a cap space problem. Only $6.9 million available, but a hefty contract still to hand out to one of their young stars in Luke Hughes.

Insider Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts Podcast that the Devils have been feeling out the market for 13-year veteran Dougie Hamilton.

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 to see what happens... I know that his name was kind of out there a little bit. And I heard they've been talking to a couple of teams. We'll see where that goes.

Friedman adds that he doesn't have a feel for what the likelihood of a move is, but it's something that's definitely out there. Hamilton does have a 10-team no-trade list.

The 32-year-old has three seasons left on his seven-year deal with a $9 million cap hit. The perennial Norris Trophy candidate has had a tough past two seasons due to injuries. A lower-body issue ended his season prematurely this year in mid-March. In 64 games, he did manage 40 points and a plus-8 rating while averaging 19:51 of ice time per night. He played only 20 games the previous season.

With that $6.9 million in cap space available, they still must come up with a way to sign burgeoning young defenseman Luke Hughes, a restricted free agent. AFP Analytics projects him to earn a contract with an $8.3 million cap hit on a long-term deal, or a $5.7M cap hit on a bridge deal. Hughes was the 4th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

GM Tom Fitzgerald calls signing Hughes his top priority. Something will have to give.

The Devils have spent a bit of money this offseason, re-signing goaltender Jake Allen to a five-year, $9 million extension ($1.8M AAV), and forward Cody Glass to a two-year, $5 million deal ($2.5M AAV). They also signed UFA Connor Brown to a four-year, $12 million deal ($3M AAV). Smaller-type deals, sure, but added up, it shaved nearly $7.5M off their cap space.