Maple Leafs Reportedly Engaged in Talks for a Potential Trade with the New Jersey Devils
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland - Imagn Images
With the Devils looking to make changes, defenseman Dougie Hamilton has become expendable, and the Maple Leafs are reportedly very interested.
After another injury-ravaged season cost the New Jersey Devils in the playoffs, they are looking to make some changes and have reportedly begun listening to trade offers for defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
Hamilton just recently turned 32 years-old and is coming off of a season in which he tallied 40 points in just 64 games. Since signing a mega-deal in the summer of 2021, Hamilton has added 160 points in 228 games across 4 seasons.
While the Devils are simply just listening to offers right now, several teams have lined up conversations, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, who would love to add the puck-moving defenseman to their back end, according to NHL reporter James Murphy.
"I heard the Leafs looked into him [Hamilton]. They're looking into multiple options for their blue line, and a lot of them have offensive flair. That's their strength, so there's a common thread with their trade targets right now, and Hamilton fits the bill."
The difficult part, outside of getting the Devils to bite, is that Hamilton carries a cap hit of $9 million dollars for the next three seasons and owns a full NMC and modified NTC the rest of the way.
Perhaps the Toronto native would be interested in joining the Maple Leafs. However, for any of this to work, the Leafs would likely have to find a way to get Morgan Rielly to waive his NMC to go to New Jersey.
Considering the fact that the Devils employ Sheldon Keefe as their head coach, it's a move that makes a lot of sense for Rielly, who enjoyed some fantastic offensive years under his tutelage, including a 68-point campaign in 2021-22.
Talks are probably only in the preliminary stages right now, but if things pick up, expect the Maple Leafs to be aggressive. It would be a great change of scenery for both players, and Rielly reuniting with Keefe could spark a much needed turnaround.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 9 | 3425 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Reportedly Engaged in Talks for a Potential Trade with the New Jersey Devils Would you swap Morgan Rielly+ for Dougie Hamilton, if both agreed to waive their NMCs? | ||
| Yes | 2611 | 76.2 % |
| No | 814 | 23.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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