Can the Devils get a scorer for Dougie Hamilton?
Fourth Period Dave Pagnotta joined TSN Radio in Montreal on Monday and was asked what’s going on between the New Jersey Devils and Dougie Hamilton. Pagnotta said while they are trying to trade him, the Devils want assets in return. Mainly a goalscorer.
NHLRumors.com Transcripts
NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton and Dawson Mercer
Host: “Okay, before we let you go, try to understand what’s happening in New Jersey and what’s going to happen to Dougie Hamilton.”
Dave Pagnotta: “Look. They tried. This goes back to last season when they explored that possibility. They explored it again around the Draft, and they thought they had a deal with the Sharks. And then he wasn’t willing to do that, which was right in the first week of July.”
They waited for his bonus to be paid, but it didn’t happen. Now he has another big bonus, $7.4 million, something like that, on July 1st. Then it’s a million dollar salary, and the next season, the last year of his deal, he only makes $5.25 million. So financially there is an advantage for many teams, and some teams may still insist that they are interested in waiting until July, which puts them in a very difficult position compared to the Devils in terms of their desire to make some changes.
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But obviously now his agent is coming out and telling Pierre LeBrun where things stand, and they’re open to expanding their list. Now I was told that their list was strategically constructed to make it very difficult to actually trade him. And I think the reason why they’re willing to say that we can withdraw from that list and explore alternative options is just because of how creative they’ve been with that list.
I think he will be moved this season, even with that July bonus. Of course, it’s up to them to find the right deal. Because at the same time, this is not just a player that they want to get rid of for nothing. They want some value in return. Yes, the value comes with freeing up $9 million in cap space.
First of all, I don’t think they’ll be able to release the full pop in the season right now, but giving them some breathing room, I think, is a possibility. But at the same time, they want to get some assets back in this transaction. This isn’t just a dump. So, or at least that’s the idea surrounding the league right now.
NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton and Dawson Mercer
So we’ll see where Tom Fitzgerald goes with this. But they want to free up money. They want to bring in someone who can help them score. They’ve struggled in that department, which is a bit surprising considering the roster.
And part of the reason we’re starting to hear Dawson Mercer’s name more and more. It’s teams trying to poke around and see if they can pluck him out of there because everyone else has a no-trade.
But specifically with Dougie Hamilton, I think there is a path to a deal with the team, but again, New Jersey just doesn’t want to dump them. They want to get some assets back for this man.”
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