NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton, Ondrej Palat, Quinn Hughes and Ryan O’Reilly

Dougie Hamilton’s name was there, but Ondrej Palat’s may not have been

NHL Network: Elliotte Friedman, on the New Jersey Devils blocking a number of deals. Friedman has heard Dougie Hamilton’s name, but Ondrej Palat has not. Don’t believe the Devils package was good enough, and their shortage of healthy bodies at this point.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Mike Rupp: “What do we think about this situation? Some rumors here about Dougie Hamilton, Ondrej Palat.

Friedman: “Okay. You know, I would say, guys, that this is probably a lot of my fault. Because I had said leading up to the Quinn Hughes that one of the reasons why a lot of the Hughes stuff came out before he was traded was because I think the Devils were trying to move some pieces.”

I think they legitimately tried to move some guys, and some deals got blocked. And that’s why I think I’ve kind of figured it out.

NHL Rumors: Can a Steven Stamkos Deal Be Made?

Now I will say this, I tried to be careful, because I haven’t talked to the individuals in particular, and I always try to talk to guys before, or the representation before something ends, or their team. I’ve never heard Palat’s name. I’ve never heard his name. I’m not saying anyone else is wrong or anything like that. But all I will say is that I personally have never heard Palat’s name.

I heard Hamilton’s name. And I just think the Devils know he’s in a situation where he has a 10-team trade list, I believe. And I think they know that if they want to make a deal for him, it’s probably going to have to be one of those teams. I don’t know if he’s inclined to go anywhere, that he isn’t, that he didn’t agree to it when he sent his list earlier this summer.

And you know, the other thing is these aren’t the only guys. There are other guys, but they’re probably the biggest names, so that’s why they get all the attention.

The other thing I will say about all these guys is that I don’t think the Devils could outbid Minnesota for Quinn Hughes. I just think if you look at the package, and you can all decide, you’re all big hockey guys. Two of you played Mike. You watch more hockey than God. You can decide based on what we suspect is the Devil’s package. Would you have taken the Minnesota package or the Devil’s? And I think most people say they would have taken that from Minnesota.

NHL Rumors: Navigating Someone Who Has a No-Trade Clause

So I think what happened here was the Devils realized they weren’t going to get him, and they backed off. They’ve taken all the names they had off the trading block because they’re so short-handed now, and they’re getting beat up. That if they trade people and don’t get Hughes, they will be shortchanged even more.

So what I believe is that we have to wait to see what the Devils go after here. I still think a guy like Ryan O’Reilly is on their radar. And you know, if the time comes that they want to go out and get somebody, I think we could see multiple moves from the team that you won the Stanley Cup with, Michael.

Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumors overviews and hot topics from around the league. We also post some stuff Instagram.