On Dougie Hamilton, Cody Glass, and Dawson Mercer

There are plenty of balls in the air as the New Jersey Devils enter the heart of the off-season.

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Let’s waste no time getting to the latest and greatest surrounding the New Jersey Devils as we enter the busiest part of the NHL calendar.

On Dougie Hamilton

Shortly after the Devils finished their season, I dove deep into the possibility of trading Dougie Hamilton this summer.

Hamilton is still a good player and it’s possible – perhaps even likely – the Devils make their team worse right now by moving on. It’s still something worth strongly considering.

The logic is simple. Hamilton’s WAR has dropped in back-to-back years, his 5v5 numbers are declining, he just generated shots at the lowest rate since 2015-16, Luke Hughes appears to be taking over as the PP1 quarterback, and Hamilton has missed 18+ games in three of the past four years.

With his no-trade protection loosening July 1, it makes sense to at least see what’s out there. Elliotte Friedman hinted it’s a situation teams are monitoring.

Now, the Devils need some level of contingency plan if they’re moving on. They could use more puck-moving ability on defense to begin with and trading Hamilton isn’t going to help.

That being said, it’s better to pull the plug early than wait too long and find yourself in a tough situation.

Don’t sit on pins and needles waiting for a trade this weekend, though. If Hamilton is moved, it’ll be July 1 (or later).

The Devils need his no-movement clause to convert into a 10-team trade list, and potential suitors will likely want that $10.055 million bonus paid first.

After that’s done, Hamilton will only be owed $14.65 million in real dollars over the next three years. Much more enticing for owners signing off on a trade.

On Cody Glass