Devils' Dougie Hamilton ‘Will Be On The Trade Targets Board'

After the massive signing of Luke Hughes to a new seven-year, $9 million AAV deal, the New Jersey Devils have some other big decisions to make. Not the least of which involves the on-again, off-again rumors of the future of another top blueliner, Dougie Hamilton.

With Hughes signed to such a big number, questions have popped up again on how they'll be able to continue to fit Hamilton's identical $9M cap hit under their cap going forward. Insider Frank Servalli, on Bleacher Report, opines that Hamilton's future could be in another uniform at some point, sooner or later:

What happens with his fit with the New Jersey Devils? It's not going to be easy for them to wedge in Dougie Hamilton at what his current impact is... The tough part for the Devils is, if it's a lot for New Jersey (to fit in), it's a lot for anyone, and they'd have to take that into consideration in trying to make a move.
But it does it seem like at some point in time, whether it's now, or whether it's March, Dougie Hamilton will be on the Trade Target board.

So do the Devils hang on to Hamilton until the trade deadline in March? At that point, as they're fighting for playoff position, what kind of message would it send to the team if they ship out a top-pairing d-man going down the stretch?

With the Hughes signing, New Jersey is currently $4 million over the $95.5 million salary cap limit. That's fine for now, as teams are allowed to be 10% over the cap in preseason. But come opening night, just a week or so from now, something will have to give.

Sure, they can make some smaller moves to get cap-compliant by Oct. 9th, but moving out Hamilton's $9 million seems like a longer-term solution, and allows Luke Hughes to really take over the reins as the team's No. 1 blueliner .

The 32-year-old Hamilton has a 10-team trade list, so he does have some control, but he has already stated that he really doesn't want to go anywhere.

“I signed here for a reason, and I love being here. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup here, and I want to keep trying to do that,” Hamilton has said.

As Seravalli alluded to, the Devils would have to retain on Hamilton's cap hit to get a deal done, making the whole thing even more difficult for GM Tom Fitzgerald.

This will be one of the more intriguing situations to watch around the league, sooner or later.