Value of: Hamilton for Copp Chiarot plus (July 2025)

[lanceuppercut75]

This is July 1st 2025 when Hamilton loses his full NMC, gets his big signing bonus from New Jersey, and Luke Hughes needs a big raise as an RFA. Hamilton will be moved by NJD before his contract ends in 2028... the only questions are where and when. With Seamus Casey looking really good in the NHL, next summer is maybe the right time.


to Detroit Red Wings
Dougie Hamilton (3y @ $9.0000m)
retaining 10% on Copp (2y @ $0.5625m)
TOTAL CAP = $9.5625m

to New Jersey Devils
Andrew Copp (10% retained) (2y @ $5.0625m)
Ben Chiarot (1y $4.7500m)
DET adds good pick(s) and/or prospect(s)
TOTAL CAP = $9.8125m

You tell me what DET needs to add.
"Value Of" thread... what is the Value Of what DET needs to add here?


CAP SPACE SHORT-TERM

Detroit looks like they're saving $0.25m in cap, but they'll have to replace Copp on the roster with a forward who will cost league minimum or higher, so they actually end up adding $0.5m to $1m of cap.

Copp replaces one of the Devils UFA forwards (Tatar, Bastian, Lazar) and the trade ends up around cap-neutral for New Jersey. Possibly they save a few hundred thousand dollars.

CAP SPACE LONG-TERM

Detroit adds a bit of cap, but it's money well-spent as opposed to overpaying Chiarot.

New Jersey is able to turn a big 3 year contract into a 2 year bottom 6 forward and a 1 year overpaid depth D. The money comes off the books sooner which is needed to give Hughes, Nemec and Casey raises. NJD doesn't love the idea of paying that much for a 7D for one season, but there's compensation paid and the salary is moved. Hamilton is the best player in the trade as well. NJD also recieve pick(s)/prospect(s) considering these factors.

PROSPECT PIPELINE TO NHL

Copp is no longer needed, and players like Kasper and Danielson will be along very shortly to replace him on the roster. Bolstering the D is more important.

Casey needs an every-day roster spot at RD, meaning one of Hamilton Pesce Nemec will be going. Hamilton is the one not in the long term plans. Also from a cap perspective, the young Devils D are getting raises soon. Hughes next summer, Nemec the summer after that and Casey the summer after that. Hamilton isn't in the long-term plans and has a big salary. It's time to move that out so the kids can get paid.

AFTER TRADE BLUELINES 25/26

Dillon - Nemec
Hughes - Pesce
Siegenthaler - Casey
Chiarot (1y expiring)

Edvinsson - Seider
( Wallinder / Buium ) - Hamilton
Johansson - Holl (1y expiring)
Gustafsson (1y expiring)

Click to read more...

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Might be one of the worst proposals ever. Detroit adds at least a 1st or 2 just to dump Copp and Chiarot, then they need to pay the cost for Dougie, then they need to pay for the retention on Dougie

 

[DJJones]

Detroit needs to add alot

 

[SensontheRush]

Trash for a star player?

Typical Hfboards trade proposal. Doesn't even make sense for NJ either beyond their upcoming cap crunch. That + better be a 1st and a blue chip prospect.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Might be one of the worst proposals ever. Detroit adds at least a 1st or 2 just to dump Copp and Chiarot, then they need to pay the cost for Dougie, then they need to pay for the retention on Dougie

Chiarot at 1 year has value

Copp is a whole other story of course.


Detroit is definitely adding a 1st + though in general

 

[norrisnick]

Detroit is not trading for Hamilton. If Jersey wants rid of him trade him to someone that wants him or pay the price of freeing up $9M for 3 years.

 

[LeonDraisaitl]

Absolutely horrible for the devils, why just why

 

[JianYang]

Chiarot is from Hamilton, home of the former copps coliseum.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Chiarot at 1 year has value

Copp is a whole other story of course.


Detroit is definitely adding a 1st + though in general

How would you feel about :

( July 2025 )

ANDREW COPP (10% retained)
BEN CHIAROT
2026 DET 1ST (top 5 protected)
William Wallinder

for

DOUGIE HAMILTON

 

[norrisnick]

How would you feel about :

( July 2025 )

ANDREW COPP (10% retained)
BEN CHIAROT
2026 DET 1ST (top 5 protected)
William Wallinder

for

DOUGIE HAMILTON

Do. Not. Want.

There's a reason Yzerman traded away Hronek. He was going to be too expensive too soon for the type of defense that he provides. Hamilton is just that same type of defenseman but even more expensive and older.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Might be one of the worst proposals ever. Detroit adds at least a 1st or 2 just to dump Copp and Chiarot, then they need to pay the cost for Dougie, then they need to pay for the retention on Dougie

What retention on Dougie? Detroit is retaining 10% on Andrew Copp.

I don't really understand how you can call it a bad proposal when the add from Detroit isn't defined. They could hypothetically be adding Mazur, Sandin Pellikka and a 1st round pick... or they could be adding a 7th rounder. Those are two very different proposals.

 

[majormajor]

Trash for a star player?

Typical Hfboards trade proposal. Doesn't even make sense for NJ either beyond their upcoming cap crunch. That + better be a 1st and a blue chip prospect.

I don't see it happening for these two teams. But the Devils will certainly want to move out Hamilton as swiftly as possible, whether they get a good return or no return, or possibly even trash. They'll take the best offer they can get from the list of teams Hamilton provides.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

What retention on Dougie? Detroit is retaining 10% on Andrew Copp.

I don't really understand how you can call it a bad proposal when the add from Detroit isn't defined. They could hypothetically be adding Mazur, Sandin Pellikka and a 1st round pick... or they could be adding a 7th rounder. Those are two very different proposals.

I read that wrong my mistake on the retention

The problem with the trade is that you've proposed a base that is so incredibly lopsided to begin with that it shouldn't even be considered a base for a trade. All you did was provide how the cap can be evened out. but didn't actually attempt to negotiate for value

 

[Egresch]

I don't see it happening for these two teams. But the Devils will certainly want to move out Hamilton as swiftly as possible, whether they get a good return or no return, or possibly even trash. They'll take the best offer they can get from the list of teams Hamilton provides.

Do you actually think NJD will be able to trade Hamilton. He has 10 team trade list and he can strategically pick teams who just cannot afford him like TOR, EDM,... Rangers tried to trade Trouba and they were not successful.

 

[DJN21]

Why would Detroit burn a retention spot for only 10%?

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Don’t want to trade Hamilton and this package does nothing to sway me. Devils are trying to win and Hamilton is a big part of our defense. Devils might have a logjam on defense right now but there will be injuries throughout the year.

 

[trick9]

Hamilton <> Sandin-Pellikka

Detroit adds 1st and 2nd round pick to dump Copp and Chiarot.

Still this trade doesn't really make sense to either team. Devils downgrade a lot and they are trying to contend. Red Wings are propably trying to make the Playoffs but they pay a huge pay to get rid of some anchors here and i'm not sure if this would still be enough for them to make the Playoffs because their goalies are that bad.

 

[TBF1972]

if the return would include MBN you would find a ton of fans among the devils fans.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

I read that wrong my mistake on the retention

The problem with the trade is that you've proposed a base that is so incredibly lopsided to begin with that it shouldn't even be considered a base for a trade. All you did was provide how the cap can be evened out. but didn't actually attempt to negotiate for value

... I know. This isn't a trade proposal thread, it's a Value Of thread.

"Lopsided" = okay, so DET has to add more than a little. That's fine.

I'm not proposing a fair trade, I'm proposing a way for DET to move out 2 guys they don't need for a guy they could use on their blueline, and a way for NJD to get out from half of Hamilton's cap two years earlier and the other half one year earlier, while also making room for Casey. From a roster and cap perspective, this SEEMS to make sense (in my opinion, anyways). The cost for Detroit to make this happen? That's what I'm not sure about. I'm not even attempting to guess the cost in the OP. I'm asking other users to give their opinion on what the Value Of doing this would be (DET giving assets to NJD).

 

[Treb]

I think it would make more sense for NJ to go for a deal that saves them millions in cap, maybe even just futures and then go shopping to replace depth D/FWD (assuming Hamilton get replaced internally).

I think the add required for the current deal would be huge. Think at least 2 1st round pick level of value.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Still this trade doesn't really make sense to either team. Devils downgrade a lot and they are trying to contend. Red Wings are propably trying to make the Playoffs but they pay a huge pay to get rid of some anchors here and i'm not sure if this would still be enough for them to make the Playoffs because their goalies are that bad.

This trade happens next summer, not right now, so Luke Hughes is getting a big raise, Lyon Husso Campbell are leaving Detroit as free agents, and Cossa is coming up to play with Talbot in net for Detroit. Seamus Casey seems NHL-ready now.

Not trading Hamilton out means they're adding more and more cap to the blueline with RFA raises while blocking their incoming NHL-ready D for longer and longer. Moving out the $9 million guy not in the future plans to open a spot for the NHL ready kid seems like the logical move to me. There's only so much cap space and only 6 D can play every night.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

I think it would make more sense for NJ to go for a deal that saves them millions in cap, maybe even just futures and then go shopping to replace depth D/FWD (assuming Hamilton get replaced internally).

Every team would LIKE to move out their $9 million guy not in the future plans without taking cap back, but that's not realistic 95% of the time. On top of this, Hamilton's trade list starting next summer is only 10 teams. He can block 21 teams. It's going to be hard for New Jersey to find a team that wants Dougie Hamilton, can also afford him, and is one of the 10 teams Hamilton is willing to go to. New Jersey might be in a bit of a jam here.

This trade doesn't provide cap relief right away, which is not ideal for New Jersey. HOWEVER, they started off paying Hamilton $9m cap until 2028, and they end up shedding half of that in 2026 and the other half in 2027. It does provide the cap relief they want, but not as quickly as they want it. Since their options for moving out Hamilton might be very limited, I think they might be in a position where they would consider something like this.

As per "assuming Hamilton get replaced internally", yes, Casey is ready to replace him now as one of the three RD on the blueline. Pesce Nemec Casey at RD. Since they're a contending team, keeping Hamilton and having Casey as a callup provides better depth during this season. Starting from the offseason though, it's probably time to trade Hamilton.

 

[Treb]

Every team would LIKE to move out their $9 million guy not in the future plans without taking cap back, but that's not realistic 95% of the time. On top of this, Hamilton's trade list starting next summer is only 10 teams. He can block 21 teams. It's going to be hard for New Jersey to find a team that wants Dougie Hamilton, can also afford him, and is one of the 10 teams Hamilton is willing to go to. New Jersey might be in a bit of a jam here.

This trade doesn't provide cap relief right away, which is not ideal for New Jersey. HOWEVER, they started off paying Hamilton $9m cap until 2028, and they end up shedding half of that in 2026 and the other half in 2027. It does provide the cap relief they want, but not as quickly as they want it. Since their options for moving out Hamilton might be very limited, I think they might be in a position where they would consider something like this.

As per "assuming Hamilton get replaced internally", yes, Casey is ready to replace him now as one of the three RD on the blueline. Pesce Nemec Casey at RD. Since they're a contending team, keeping Hamilton and having Casey as a callup provides better depth during this season. Starting from the offseason though, it's probably time to trade Hamilton.

Unless Hamilton doesn't pick it up this year, I personally don't think it's going to be that hard to move him while taking less salary than what you are offering especially if the cap keeps rising.

I don't think the plus required to make that deal work is enticing to Detroit.

 

[TS Quint]

I like Hamilton but the backbone of the Wings prospect pool is their defense. I just don’t think they should trade for something they should develop with the prospects they already have. The Wings have a giant hole at 2C they NEED to fix.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I actually think Hamilton is highly overrated, but this proposal is still bad for him