Will the New Jersey Devils pressure Dougie Hamilton to expand his roster?
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on the New Jersey Devils and the Dougie Hamilton situation. He’ll be a healthy scratch today. Are they trying to force a transaction? He has a 10-team trade list. He blocked an offseason trade to the San Jose Sharks.
Ron McLean: “Well, we have the Vancouver Canucks tonight, but you mentioned New Jersey, and maybe when the Quinn Hughes speculation increased, it almost seemed like the moment when New Jersey started to get in trouble. Anyway, Dougie Hamilton, who might have been involved in those talks, is now in the crosshairs.
Friedman: “Yes. So Dougie Hamilton practiced on the fourth defensive pair on Saturday. The Devils play the Jets on Sunday and he won’t play. He’s already been told he won’t be in the lineup.”
NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens
The Devils say: Look, we have a lot of extra defensemen, or we have extra defensemen. (Johnathan) Kovacevic returns; someone has to sit. But Hamilton’s agent, JP Barry, believes this is a business decision to force Hamilton to accept a trade.
I contacted Dougie Hamilton’s agent JP Barry. His answer:
“Dougie was told today that he will not play now that Kovacevic is back in the line-up. In our opinion that is true.”
this decision at this point is all about business and not about his game. Picking him seems very…— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 10, 2026
Now Hamilton has moved to a partial no-trade clause this season. He can be traded to only one of the ten teams. He can block the other 21. And one thing we are aware of is that San Jose tried to trade for him in the summer, and Hamilton blocked that move. With the way things are going with the Sharks now, he might change his mind. They are one of the best teams to watch in the NHL.
But you know, the fact is that Barry has indicated that they will consider discussing some teams that Hamilton can block a trade for. But there is no doubt at this point that feelings are very heavy on both sides. Losing does that. Hamilton feels like he’s being targeted for non-performance reasons, he certainly is.
I contacted Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald regarding JP Barry’s comments.
Fitzgerald:
“As you know, we put Nemec back in the lineup on Thursday. He’s a young guy who we want to see get his game back where before his injury he was easily our best defenders.”
Pesce’s play…— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 10, 2026
All I can tell you is that today people were wondering if he would terminate his contract. He has two years left after this year at approximately $13.6 million. I’m told the answer to that is no. Hamilton is due $8.4 million next year, including a $7.4 million bonus in the summer. I understand that, it is not on the table. So we’re going to see if everyone here can work together to get something done.”
NHL Rumors: Something needs to change in New Jersey
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