Main Holdup In Potential Dougie Hamilton Trade

The New Jersey Devils are trying to make trades to upgrade their forward group, but it seems almost impossible if they don't first move out some money. The team has less than $1 million in cap space and their eyes are set on players worth more than that, and for longer than just this season as a rental.

Dougie Hamilton has been in the conversation for a while now since Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec have both stepped up overall and offensively. They are both arguably better than Hamilton, Hughes costs the same, and Nemec will be a lot cheaper as he's still currently on his rookie contract.

David Pagnotta said, "I think Dougie Hamilton could've been traded by now if it was to one of the teams not on his...he's got a 10-team trade list. I think there was a deal there earlier this season. It wasn't on his preferred list."

The Devils not only have both Hughes and Nemec on defense to carry the offensive responsibilities, the team has Jonas Siegenthaler, Brett Pesce, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brendan Dillon, Seamus Casey, and even Colton White, Dennis Cholowski, and Calen Addison. Moving on from Hamilton would free up a huge $9 million AAV for two more seasons after this one and can be used on players with term.

The Devils know they really need the scoring depth because things get dark when Jack Hughes, who leads the offense, is injured, which he is every season for some time. The bottom-6 this season, even after changes, still looks just as weak. Connor Brown and Cody Glass are doing well enough, but combined, Ondrej Palat, Luke Glendenning, Stefan Noesen, and Juho Lammikko have five goals and 21 points on the season.

Big-name players like Steven Stamkos have been linked to the Devils, and whether Hamilton is traded to the Nashville Predators or more likely somewhere else, it's a trade that the Devils have to figure out.