The hockey world is waiting for the shoe to drop on a Dougie Hamilton trade, and until that happens, speculation will continue to swirl around potential landing spots.
Based on recent reports from Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman and their abundance of cap space, San Jose has emerged as a frontrunner. That said, there appear to be two other teams joining them: the Utah Mammoth and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
RG Media’s Jimmy Murphy reported Monday that the Sharks, Mammoth and Maple Leafs are the three teams showing the most interest in acquiring Hamilton.
Murphy wrote:
“The Sharks, Maple Leafs and Mammoth have all proven to be serious candidates.
Notably, San Jose and Utah have rejoined New Jersey as talks gain momentum, while Toronto remains engaged despite tighter restrictions.”
The 32-year-old Hamilton is in the fifth season of the seven-year, $63 million deal he signed to come to New Jersey as a UFA in 2021. He struggled with just 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 40 games played this season.
How the Maple Leafs can make a Dougie Hamilton trade work
Money will always be Toronto’s biggest obstacle, especially when going up against a player with a $9 million cap hit like Hamilton. Still, there are ways the Maple Leafs can be creative and potentially make a deal work, and they’re worth exploring for someone who not too long ago (2022-2023) put up 74 points.
Placing Chris Tanev on LTIR would immediately free up $4.5 million in cap space. From there, the remaining blow could be addressed by moving a contract like Calle Jarnkrok ($2.1 million), Max Domi ($3.75 million) or Matias Maccelli ($3.425 million) and/or letting New Jersey keep some of Hamilton’s salary.
This won’t be an easy deal, but teams around the league routinely find ways to maneuver the cap when targeting a player they really want. At the very least, this feels like a situation where GM Brad Treliving needs to do his due diligence to see what it would realistically take to bring Hamilton to Toronto, especially as the team is starting to turn a corner and needs a boost on the blue line.
Next: Part 2: 5 other superstars who could be on the way in the near future
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