NHL Trade Rumors: Maple Leafs Among 4 Teams Linked To Devils' Dougie Hamilton

Elliotte Friedman noted earlier this week that New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton was becoming a trade candidate as the team potentially looks to move on from his $9 million cap hit on a contract that has three seasons left to run.

His full no-move clause transitioned to a ten-team modified no-trade clause on July 1st, and the Devils are taking calls.

And while no trade seems to be imminent, James Murphy of rg.org notes that a source has indicated that there are four teams that are inquiring around the market for a D-man just like Hamilton:

“I heard the Leafs looked into him", a source told Murphy. "They’re looking into multiple options for their blue line, and a lot of them have offensive flair. That’s their strength, so there’s a common thread with their trade targets right now, and Hamilton fits the bill.”

Why the Leafs have Dougie Hamilton on their radar

Another NHL source said about Toronto, "They need that offense from the backend; they need that guy on the power play. Can they make the cap hit and cap space work? That’s what matters here, and the Leafs gotta make up that offense with [Mitch] Marner gone.”

To that end, we also wrote about the Leafs' connection to the Pittsburgh Penguins' Erik Karlsson.

As for the other teams on the Hamilton suitors list, the first source had this to say:

“The Stars, Red Wings, and Mammoth have also been pushing hard to acquire a right-shot defenseman that can bolster their offense and improve their power play, so they make a ton of sense.”

The $9 million cap hit will be tough for many teams to overcome, so that will be a stumbling block if the Devils aren't willing to retain some money. They're also in no rush to move Hamilton, as they'll be without fellow right-shot D-man Johnathan Kovacevic, who could miss the first six weeks or so of the season after knee surgery.

Hamilton was the 9th overall selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. He's also played for the Calgary Flames and the Carolina Hurricanes.

In 13 NHL seasons, over 835 games, Hamilton has 151 goals and 501 points with a +76 rating. His 2024-25 season ended prematurely due to injury, and he finished with 40 points and a plus-8 rating in an average of 19:51 of ice time per game.