Should the New Jersey Devils be worried about Dougie Hamilton?

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By CJ Turtoro (@CJTDevil)

Last week I wrote about how fans need to stop caring about the win-loss record and direct their attention towards the bright future we can see developing in the skater talent – particularly the young forwards – because they are doing some exciting things. 

So as not to ruin my brand, let me follow that up with what’s probably been debatably the most underwhelming skater performance of the year. Let’s start out with the facts.

In terms of per-60 performance, Dougie Hamilton is the New Jersey Devils’ highest-scoring defender in all situations (1.63) and even-strength (1.38).

If we aggregate the GAR/xGAR numbers, he trails only Jonas Siegenthaler; who still leads the entire league in defensive value and has enough of a cushion for it to be safe to say he will finish the year there. Lastly, he trails only Siegenthaler in terms of per-60 impact on expected goals, and leads the team in impact on actual goals.

That doesn’t feel like the profile of someone you’d typically describe as having a disappointing season. But “leading the Devils” is different from being an elite defencemen in the NHL – which is what he’s being paid to be. In that respect, it is fair to say that his still-very-good performance is not up to par with his personal history.