Clock Is Ticking for Devils to Clear Cap Space
With Johnathan Kovacevic seemingly getting closer to a return, it's time for the New Jersey Devils to shed salary.
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The NHL’s holiday roster freeze lifts tonight at 12:01 AM. Usually, that’s not a particularly significant date on the calendar. However, it holds more significance for the New Jersey Devils and general manager Tom Fitzgerald than it has in the past.
Johnathan Kovacevic took part in a morning skate with the team before the Christmas break. That means he’s likely getting closer to a return after a lengthy absence, which means the Devils will be over the salary cap ceiling once he’s ready to play again.
The Devils have needed to clear cap space since the summer, but Fitzgerald hasn’t been able to do it. Now, the clock is ticking to get something done with Kovacevic’s return getting closer.
Is Clearing Hamilton the Right Move?
The Devils have reportedly had at least one trade vetoed due to no-trade/no-move protection. While it’s hard to say for certain, it could be Dougie Hamilton, who has a full no-move clause and a 10-team trade list.
It also doesn’t help that Hamilton has not had a great season. He has just four goals and eight points in 33 games, a pace of just 20 points over 82 games. That’s a bit of a problem when your cap hit of $9 million ties you for the highest-paid player on the team.
The Devils should have traded Hamilton during the summer when he still had value, but I understand why they didn’t. We all knew Kovacevic would be out until the new year at a minimum, so they needed the right-handed Hamilton on their blue line.
I’m not sure what the Devils can get for Hamilton today. I doubt a team will give up meaningful assets for him, but the Devils just need the cap space. Having said that, trading Hamilton in-season might not be the right move.
There’s no doubt his season has been a disappointment so far, but I’m cautiously optimistic he can bounce back coming out of the Christmas break.
Hamilton has been the victim of some bad luck this season. The Devils have an on-ice shooting percentage of just 4.88 percent when Hamilton is on the ice at five-on-five this season. Only Stefan Noesen, Dennis Cholowski and Luke Glendening have lower on-ice shooting percentages than Hamilton.
The difference between Hamilton and those three players is that Hamilton’s even-strength impacts have been fine, even more than fine. His RAPM chart from Evolving Hockey shows he’s been fine and that he’s had some poor finishing luck:
