The idea of the Colorado Avalanche landing disgruntled New Jersey Devils blueliner Dougie Hamilton wouldn’t be the craziest thought in the world. In fact, there might be something to it.
Hamilton was a healthy scratch in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The move, as has been outlined by insiders, responds to Hamilton being open to a trade.
The 32-year-old defenseman would certainly be appealing to at least half of the league. But there’s one catch. His $9 million cap hit pretty much makes it impossible for most teams to fit him under their cap structure this season.
But then again, if the Avalanche really wanted to make this deal happen, it might just work.
The Avalanche have just $2.3 million in cap space at the moment. That situation would make the math impossible at this point. But given the cap dynamics, the Avalanche could make the deal work.
In particular, this situation is due to the fact that the Avalanche would only be on the hook for the remainder of Hamilton’s cap hit for the remainder of the season. In other words, the Avs wouldn’t be taking on the full $9 million cap hit this season. If the trade happened today, about half ($4.5 million) would hit Colorado’s books.
Even then, Hamilton’s cap hit would be too high. Considering that the Devils are unlikely to retain any salary, the Avalanche would have to shed some salary. The Avalanche could move out one or two low-value contracts just to balance the books.
But then again, would it be worthwhile to ship out someone like Joel Kiviranta or Ross Colton to bring in Hamilton? That’s a debate worth having. Perhaps sacrificing a current roster player might not be advantageous. But then again, if there’s an opportunity to make this deal happen, it would behoove GM Chris MacFarland to at least explore it.
Hamilton would make Avalanche blue line even more dangerous
Dougie Hamilton remains a solid, puck-moving blueliner even at 32. He could be a very good boost on the second pairing, playing on the right side with Josh Manson. Considering Hamilton is 6’6” and Manson 6’3”, such a pairing would infuse fear in opposing forwards. Manson is about as tough as they come, with Hamilton using his size and reach to make plays.
If anything, Hamilton playing with Brent Burns could be another interesting pairing. The two vets could turn the Avalanche blue line into a show of force.
The only issue would be who gets squeezed out. The likeliest candidates would be Sam Malinski. Malinski has taken a major step forward this season and doesn’t deserve to get bumped.
That situation underscores one thing: The Avalanche don’t need Hamilton. Under the right circumstances, landing Hamilton could make sense. For instance, if the Devils let Hamilton go for a couple of low-end draft picks or a mid-level prospect, the deal might be worth considering.
Otherwise, the Avalanche would be better off allocating their resources elsewhere.