New Jersey Devils
Maple Leafs Among Three Teams Most Interested in Dougie Hamilton
Jimmy Murphy of RG Media has reported that the Maple Leafs are a serious suitor for Dougie Hamilton.
The hockey world is waiting for the shoe to drop on a Dougie Hamilton trade, and until that happens, speculation will continue to swirl around potential landing spots.
Based on recent reports from Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman and their abundance of cap space, San Jose has emerged as a frontrunner. That said, two other teams appear to be right there with them: the Utah Mammoth and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jimmy Murphy of RG Media reported on Monday that the Sharks, Mammoth, and Maple Leafs are the three teams showing the most interest in acquiring Hamilton.
“The Sharks, Maple Leafs, and Mammoth have all emerged as serious suitors.
San Jose and Utah in particular have circled back with New Jersey as talks accelerate, while Toronto remains involved despite tighter cap constraints,”
The 32-year-old Hamilton is in the fifth season of the seven-year, $63 million deal he signed to come to New Jersey as a UFA in 2021. He’s struggled to the tune of just 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 40 games played this season.
How the Maple Leafs Can Make a Dougie Hamilton Trade Work
Money will always be the biggest obstacle for Toronto, especially when taking on a player with a $9 million cap hit like Hamilton. Still, there are ways for the Maple Leafs to get creative and potentially make a deal work, and they’re worth exploring for a guy that racked up 74 points not that long ago (2022-23).
Placing Chris Tanev on LTIR would immediately free up $4.5 million in cap space. From there, the remaining hit could be addressed by moving out a contract such as Calle Jarnkrok ($2.1 million), Max Domi ($3.75 million), or Matias Maccelli ($3.425 million), and/or having New Jersey retain some of Hamilton’s salary.
This won’t be an easy deal to pull off, but teams around the league routinely find ways to maneuver the cap when targeting a player they truly want. At the very least, this feels like a situation where GM Brad Treliving has to do his due diligence to see what it would realistically take to bring Hamilton to Toronto, especially since the team has started to turn a corner and is in need of a boost on the blue line.
Next: Part 2: 5 Other Superstars Who Could Be On The Move In the Foreseeable Future
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