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Agent Criticizes Devils, GM Responds; Hamilton Wants Trade
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- Agent Criticizes Devils, GM Responds; Hamilton Wants Trade
New Jersey Devils star defenseman Dougie Hamilton has a 10-team no-trade clause. However, it seems the Devils trade talk is about to increase significantly.
That list may no longer matter after coach Sheldon Keefe delivered a message to the embattled defenseman Saturday by making him a healthy scratch.
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Hamilton's agent J.P. Barry criticized the Devils Saturday afternoon, telling TSN's Pierre LeBrun :
"In our view, this decision is all about business rather than his game right now. Singling him out seems very calculated at this stage," Barry said. "Dougie has a 10-team trade list, and there have been efforts to trade him going back to the draft last year. We have made it clear to the Devils that we will consider teams outside our list and other creative ways to get to a team that is mutually acceptable."
Thus, the 10-team trade list seems like it will expand.
Hamilton's agent confirmed that there have been multiple efforts to move the $9 million defenseman, which aligns with the reporting that there's been a few nixed deals amid general manager Tom Fitzgerald's quest to improve the roster.
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Following Barry's comments on how the Devils are handling the situation, the Devils GM reaffirmed what Keefe said earlier in the day about Hamilton being the odd-man out via LeBrun.
"As you know, we just put [Simon] Nemec back in the lineup on Thursday. He's a young guy who we want getting his game back, where he had been easily our best defensemen before his injury. [Brett] Pesce's play speaks for itself, he isn't going anywhere. And Johnathan Kovacevic coming back, gives our roster a spark we are looking for, and he was our best defensive defenseman all of last year.
"And that's what we want with our lineup now. This is simply Dougie being the odd-man out with where our right-side is- fully healthy for the first time all year. This is business. Business of our lineup!"
This summer, the Devils inked 22-year-old defenseman, Luke Hughes , to a seven-year extension that carries the same average annual value as Hamilton at $ 9 million, making him Hamilton's clear successor.
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Hamilton has been anything but the star defenseman he was signed to be in 2025-26. In 40 games this year, he's netted five goals and 10 points. The 32-year-old defenseman is on pace for 10 goals and 20 points in 81 games.
The Devils inked Hamilton to a seven-year, $63 million contract in July 2021, netting their first major free-agent in several years which helped New Jersey attract talent.
Now, it appears with 2.5 years remaining on his deal, a trade has upgraded to a matter of when, not if.
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