Confirmed Signing with Link: [NJD] Dougie Hamilton signs with the Devils (7 years, $9M AAV) [Part II]

[GIN ANTONIC]

Didn't like 7 different defense sign around 9M long term this offseason?

They sure did. Makar is at $9 I think and seeing as he’s so young it’s probably the only one that’s gonna be reasonably fine. The Jones and Nurse contracts are atrocious.

 

[JohnLennon]

They sure did. Makar is at $9 I think and seeing as he’s so young it’s probably the only one that’s gonna be reasonably fine. The Jones and Nurse contracts are atrocious.

Hamilton being signed until about 34 years old really doesn't seem that bad. I'll agree with you, not a fan of the Nurse contract in particular. Makar and Hamilton I think are fine though.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

Hamilton being signed until about 34 years old really doesn't seem that bad. I'll agree with you, not a fan of the Nurse contract in particular. Makar and Hamilton I think are fine though.

think it's 35, but that's just picking nits

since he doesn't overly rely on a physical game (much like Petro) he should age pretty well

anything much longer wouldve been a different conversation prolly

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Not really. Him and his agent targeted a team with the biggest need and it was NJ. And NJ had a huge need for him and they were locked in on trying to get him. Yes he was looking for a good offer but I do t see this as him being a total mercenary looking to squeeze every penny he can chasing a $

The whole point is that he kind of can be a mercenary. He's one of these players that doesn't really have a serious girlfriend or kids of his own. Maximizing his earnings as much as possible, therefore, makes a hell of a lot of sense for him.

 

[Tryamw]

Makes sense . I never understood why Carolina didn’t seem to want to match NJs offer or try to retain him. Same with him getting traded from Calgary ? Why? Thanks for the post .

Future years. Svech Necas others. Aho before long Staal. He was an expensive luxury to the Canes

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Hamilton being signed until about 34 years old really doesn't seem that bad. I'll agree with you, not a fan of the Nurse contract in particular. Makar and Hamilton I think are fine though.

Hes just not a player I want to pay $9 mil for, especially on a long term deal. It doesn’t matter for NJ because they have the space but didn’t make sense for the Canes at that length. I don’t think he’s gonna look great after age 31 but I guess we’ll see.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

The whole point is that he kind of can be a mercenary. He's one of these players that doesn't really have a serious girlfriend or kids of his own. Maximizing his earnings as much as possible, therefore, makes a hell of a lot of sense for him.

wasn't that kind of the rumor with him as he was leaving CAL, the he was just basically in it for himself?

 

[HyperX]

Hes just not a player I want to pay $9 mil for, especially on a long term deal. It doesn’t matter for NJ because they have the space but didn’t make sense for the Canes at that length. I don’t think he’s gonna look great after age 31 but I guess we’ll see.

What would make you think he'll start declining at 31? Thats not that old for an NHL player, especially defenseman

 

[AfroThunder396]

wasn't that kind of the rumor with him as he was leaving CAL, the he was just basically in it for himself?

The Canadian media ran him out of town because he's a quiet guy that prefers to chill by himself instead of getting drunk and picking up chicks with the boys

 

[Tripledeke333]

As a Habs fan, I would love if we signed Hamilton to that deal. Sure it may be an overpayment, but that is the price you pay for an UFA as you do not have to give up assets. Good Dmen are tough to find and paying up for them is worth it.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

What would make you think he'll start declining at 31? Thats not that old for an NHL player, especially defenseman

My view: I think he’ll be fine into his early-mid 30s. Maybe not $9M fine, but I don’t think NJ will regret the contract as he’ll like still be very good.

Dougie is not a great skater to begin with so he relies on his shot, reach, size, and anticipation/read (particularly offensively) to be effective. If he loses a step, he may have to adapt some, but as he ages, he won’t likely lose the things that make him effective.

the contract doesn’t make sense for Carolina, but makes perfect sense for NJ.

edit: and by “size” I don’t mean in the sense of being overly physical or throwing hits.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Since day 1 of the signing we have had to read the same few narratives over and over. Yes he might be overpaid but he is a huge addition to the Devils. Cap space is not an issue , our issue was not having a legit top pairing defensman since Paul Martin back in 2010. We have had some good one's since then but no All Star caliber player like Hamilton. What makes this even better is having Smith and Luke Hughes in the system who will hopefully get to play with him at some point and carry the workload as Hamilton nears the end of his contract.

 

[Peasy]

Elite defencemen tend to age well it seems like recently (ones without injury history). There's a lot of defencemen the past 10 years that were still playing at high levels well into their 30s. I wouldn't be too worried about Dougie.

 

[Guttersniped]

My view: I think he’ll be fine into his early-mid 30s. Maybe not $9M fine, but I don’t think NJ will regret the contract as he’ll like still be very good.

Dougie is not a great skater to begin with so he relies on his shot, reach, size, and anticipation/read (particularly offensively) to be effective. If he loses a step, he may have to adapt some, but as he ages, he won’t likely lose the things that make him effective.

the contract doesn’t make sense for Carolina, but makes perfect sense for NJ.

edit: and by “size” I don’t mean in the sense of being overly physical or throwing hits.

Basically this and the contract will likely be dicey at the end but that’s nothing for a UFA signing. They’re typically dicey or outright bad at the start and complete anchors sooner than later.

The Canes weren’t going to pay 9m because they couldn’t with the other defensive contracts they have. It’s a lot for a defenseman. It’s a budgeting decision by a team that’s run by cold hard logic a lot more than most sport franchises. It’s not that perplexing.

All the reported offers don’t matter, if Hamilton would have gone down I’m guessing the Canes might have gone up some and maybe found a way to make it work. But Hamilton for sure needed to go under 8m for that, he didn’t want to and that’s that. And there is a question of term, as Carolina isn’t a team that would give older player a 8 year deal simply to get it done, and leave future cap issues for the future, either.

The Canes are spending 25m on defense without him which is about what teams want to spend there. (Though Gardiner is going on LTIR). They can see what they have in their new RFAs (Bear, ADA) and what they need to pay them, figure out what to do with Gardiner next year, and if they’re going to find other short term guys (like Ian Cole) or go after someone bigger.

It’s pretty bold to be willing to lose his offense when they still have scoring issues but putting a ton of your cap space into defense is trouble. Florida fell into that trap and had a ~30m defense and not much to show for it until Zito remade their defensive core.

It’s not great idea for the Devils but it’s an ok move because he’s an impact player who is worth quite a bit in terms of value. The team needed something and defensemen are often overpaid, so I don’t really care about that.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

What would make you think he'll start declining at 31? Thats not that old for an NHL player, especially defenseman

@Boom Boom Apathy basically outlines it for me. He’s not a player that personally I want to pay $9 mil right now but I especially don’t want to pay him that in 4 years. I don’t see him as getting better at this point so $9m at his current level is a no for me… $9m while on a decline (which I think we will see halfway through the deal) is a big NO

My view: I think he’ll be fine into his early-mid 30s. Maybe not $9M fine, but I don’t think NJ will regret the contract as he’ll like still be very good.

Dougie is not a great skater to begin with so he relies on his shot, reach, size, and anticipation/read (particularly offensively) to be effective. If he loses a step, he may have to adapt some, but as he ages, he won’t likely lose the things that make him effective.

the contract doesn’t make sense for Carolina, but makes perfect sense for NJ.

edit: and by “size” I don’t mean in the sense of being overly physical or throwing hits.

 

[MartyOwns]

if the past few years have taught me anything, it's that bad contracts are far from impossible to get out of. especially once the cap starts going up again. so even if the last few years are rough, we can always get out of it.

if the guy is a basket case like kane it gets more difficult but i don't anticipate that with dougie.

 

[My3Sons]

Because paying $9m or more, per year for a dman on a long term contract is very likely to end in tears.

Tears? I'd suggest any fan who sheds tears over the contracts handed out by an NHL team needs to get a better perspective.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Tears? I'd suggest any fan who sheds tears over the contracts handed out by an NHL team needs to get a better perspective.

OK man. So sorry. I suggest any fan who can't understand hyperbole should probably refrain from discussing things on the internet.

 

[My3Sons]

OK man. So sorry. I suggest any fan who can't understand hyperbole should probably refrain from discussing things on the internet.

You can't discern intonation from just the written word and on this website there are plenty of posters for whom that sort of statement would not be hyperbole even if you aren't one of them.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

You can't discern intonation from just the written word and on this website there are plenty of posters for whom that sort of statement would not be hyperbole even if you aren't one of them.

OK man. It just seems like a weird thing to derail the thread on. I think it should have been pretty obvious that by saying 'end in tears' was a descriptive way of saying 'will end poorly' but whatever. It's really not worth discussing.

 

[Mobiandi]

The Canadian media ran him out of town because he's a quiet guy that prefers to chill by himself instead of getting drunk and picking up chicks with the boys

Calgary media is among the softest in the league

 

[bleedgreen]

Calgary media is among the softest in the league

There was nothing subtle or soft about what was said about Dougie when he left Calgary. Didn’t their gm call it “addition by subtraction” or something to that effect?

 

[Mobiandi]

There was nothing subtle or soft about what was said about Dougie when he left Calgary. Didn’t their gm call it “addition by subtraction” or something to that effect?

No one official from Calgary said anything off limits with regards to the trade. Treliving went on and on how much it would hurt losing Ferland. All he said in reference to Hamilton and Fox was that his goal that offseason was to make sure he had players who wanted to be here.

No one in the media took shots at Dougie when he left. They just reported on the friction between front office and Dougie with regards to the Freddie nonsense. Boston media previously ran with the 'uppity loner' stuff in 2013 and John Shannon later piggybacked off that with the museum analogy for his 15 minutes of fame

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

OK man. It just seems like a weird thing to derail the thread on. I think it should have been pretty obvious that by saying 'end in tears' was a descriptive way of saying 'will end poorly' but whatever. It's really not worth discussing.

I don’t know why, but it always gets my goat when people don’t understand idioms.

which is confusing, because I don’t even own a goat.

 

[TBF1972]

OK man. It just seems like a weird thing to derail the thread on. I think it should have been pretty obvious that by saying 'end in tears' was a descriptive way of saying 'will end poorly' but whatever. It's really not worth discussing.

you mean dougie weird? my3sons has a basket of pupic hair puppets. but all of them are from lovejoy.