Could Devils Go for Major Shakeup & Trade Hamilton?
Some thoughts on Elliotte Friedman mentioning people are very curious to hear what the New Jersey Devils will do with Dougie Hamilton this offseason
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It was a quiet Day 1 for the New Jersey Devils at the 2025 NHL Draft, but that's no surprise since they didn't have a first-round pick. They have seven picks in Rounds 2-7, so today could be busy, but let's save the draft talk for another day.
On yesterday's 32 Thoughts episode, Elliotte Friedman mentioned there are people who are very curious to hear what the Devils are going to do with Dougie Hamilton since his no-move clause shifts to a 10-team list of where he can be traded to starting on July 1.
Hamilton has three years left on his contract at a cap hit of $9 million. It would clear plenty of cap space for the Devils and give general manager Tom Fitzgerald more flexibility to make significant improvements to the roster. Could Hamilton be on the move this offseason?
Hamilton Should Have Value if the Devils Trade Him
Earlier this offseason, I wrote about why the Devils shouldn't rush a Hamilton trade yet. Aside from Luke Hughes and Hamilton, they'd have zero puck-moving ability on their back end if they traded him.
However, I don't think Friedman would have mentioned Hamilton if the Devils weren't having conversations about him around the league. If so, I can understand why the Devils might want to move on.
One) While there haven't been many trades so far, it seems to be a seller's market this offseason. The Colorado Avalanche received second and third-round picks and prospect Gavin Brindley for cap dumping Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood.
The Devils can probably get plenty of value back for Hamilton, and it wouldn't just be futures. The New York Islanders received Emil Heineman in the Noah Dobson trade, and while his upside may not be more than a bottom-six forward, he looks like an NHLer.
Dobson is younger and has more upside than Hamilton, but the Devils can probably still get back a meaningful contributor for him, as well as some other assets. Maybe it's a middle-six forward, or maybe it's a bottom-four defenseman, but I doubt it'd be a strictly futures package if the Devils trade him.
If the Devils are only getting futures offers for Hamilton, they'd probably be best off holding onto him unless they know they can flip those assets for immediate NHL help.
I assume that NHL help would be for a forward, but the Devils would still need to replace Hamilton. I would not feel comfortable going into next season with Brett Pesce, Šimon Nemec and Seamus Casey manning the right side since Johnathan Kovacevic will likely still be recovering from knee surgery.
It's not the best free-agent class, especially for defensemen, but there is one UFA target who might make sense as a stop-gap.
Perbix Could Be a Good Short-Term Solution
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix is expected to hit free agency. He finished with 19 points in 74 games this season and has averaged 23 points per 82 games for his career.
Obviously, he's not anything close to Hamilton, but I would call him highly underrated. Perbix is a very well-rounded, two-way, right-shot defenseman with a diverse toolkit. He's not the high-volume shooter that Hamilton is, but he does generate quality chances.
Furthermore, Perbix is highly efficient in transition, ranking in the 97th and 96th percentiles in zone entries and zone exit possession rate. The Devils had some trouble moving the puck out of their own end this season, but he would help fix that.
Perbix is also an excellent rush defender, and he's much better than Hamilton on defensive zone retrievals. This is not to say he'll be an upgrade over Hamilton, but he can be effective. Overall, his microstats profile is quite impressive:
The Lightning largely kept Perbix sheltered, with him only logging around 18 percent of his minutes against elite competition. But that shouldn't be an issue with the Devils if the plan is to play him as a No. 4 or 5 defenseman, and his workload would likely lighten once Kovacevic returns.
Perbix should not be expensive to sign, either. Evolving Hockey has him inking a three-year deal at a cap hit of $2.872 million, while AFP Analytics has him at two years and a cap hit of $2.645 million. The two-year contract aligns perfectly for when Quinn Hughes becomes a UFA, so Perbix would be the perfect stop-gap if the Devils trade Hamilton.
Devils Could Go for Broke
We'll see what the Devils decide to do with Hamilton. There are arguments for and against trading him now. The Devils need more puck-moving ability, and losing Hamilton would hurt their offensive ability from the back end unless Nemec and Casey take significant steps forward next season.
On the other hand, Hamilton has had significant injuries during his time with the Devils and is showing some signs of slowing down at 32. If Fitzgerald wants to go for broke improving the roster, then clearing Hamilton's $9 million cap hit gives him that flexibility.
I don't expect the Devils to trade Hamilton until his NMC shifts to a 10-team trade list on July 1 (if they even trade him), but it seems like something we should be keeping an eye on over the next couple of weeks.
I understand waiting a bit to make a decision on Hamilton, but I’m a bit stumped on why Palat is still on the team. It may not be accurate, but it SEEMS like other teams have made their necessary salary dumps and got actual assets in return. I imagine those opportunities must be drying up.