Dougie Hamilton Looking for Extremely Lucrative UFA Deal

Heading into this offseason, one of the most talked about pending unrestricted free agents is defenceman Dougie Hamilton. The 28-year-old, who has spent the past three seasons in Carolina, is regarded as one of the better blueliners in the entire game. While a return to the Hurricanes hasn’t been officially ruled out yet, it doesn’t seem overly likely, resulting in many fans hoping their team can step up and land him. However, their thoughts may change after hearing what type of deal he is looking for.

According to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, Hamilton’s camp will use Alex Pietrangelo as a contract comparable in discussions with teams. For those who are unaware, Pietrangelo signed a seven-year, $61.6 million with the Vegas Golden Knights last summer, and has a cap hit of $8.8 million. That is a tough contract to fit in at any time, let alone with the cap remaining flat, and will certainly have both management and fans questioning whether or not it is worth it for their respective team to go after.

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Fox also reported that the Hurricanes will likely try to use a player like Torey Krug as a comparable for a deal. Krug signed a seven-year, $45.5 million deal with the St. Louis Blues last offseason and has a cap hit of $6.5 million. Perhaps the two sides are able to meet somewhere in the middle, but from the sounds of it they are pretty far apart as of now.

The question now becomes whether or not the reward outweighs the risk in giving Hamilton a deal that he wants. If a team were to give him the seven-year deal he is reportedly seeking, as well as the money, he would be under contract until the age of 35. While some players are able to maintain a high level of play well into their 30’s, many others decline, some more rapidly than others. Any team who signs Hamilton will have to keep that in mind and decide if it is worth the risk.

Multiple Teams Interested in Hamilton

As far as interest in Hamilton goes, there isn’t a team who wouldn’t like to add him given his elite-level skill. However, when it comes to teams that could actually make it work, the list gets much smaller. Some frontrunners, not including the Hurricanes, are the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks have a ton of cap space this offseason and are looking to take another run at a Stanley Cup with guys like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, whereas the Flyers are looking to bounce back after a very disappointing 2020-21 season in which their blueline struggled immensely.

Other teams who have been discussed are the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jets are in desperate need of an upgrade on the back end, whereas the Oilers are looking to find someone to replace Tyson Barrie who is likely on his way out of town. The Leafs are another interesting team to keep an eye on given that they had yet another frustrating playoff exit and are looking to change some things up, as well as find a potential replacement for Morgan Rielly who has just one year remaining on his contract.

High Profiled Names on the Market

This offseason is shaping up to be one of the craziest ever given some of the big name players who are still without contracts for the 2021-22 season. Along with Hamilton are players like Alex Ovechkin, Gabriel Landeskog, Philippe Grubauer, Taylor Hall, and many others, making this a crucial summer for teams who are looking to improve their rosters. Though some of these players could still be signed by their respective teams, time is running out as free agency is set to begin in just over a month’s time.

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