Hurricanes GM Don Waddell: Dougie Hamilton extension talks tabled - TSN.ca
Waddell said the Hurricanes and Dougie Hamilton’s camp have agreed to table contract discussions until after the season. Hamilton, 27, is in the final year of a six-year, $34.5 million deal signed with the Calgary Flames in 2015.
“We’ve had many talks, we talked again last weekend,” Waddell said. “You know, Dougie wants to stay here. We’ve talked to him, we love Dougie, we want him to stay here. He fits in well with our team, our coaches like him.
“I truly think Dougie wants to stay here. We’ve decided that it would be best for both us to just wait until the end of the year, let’s sit down and see if we can hammer out a deal, put it on the back-burner so Dougie can worry about playing hockey at this point.”
On whether Waddell is more aggressive or more willing to tinker with his roster at the deadline than most other managers:
“Yeah, I think so,” Waddell said. “Let’s face it, I have an owner in Tom Dundon that is very passionate about the team. He likes to be involved and know what’s going on and everything else. We won eight games in a row and he wants to know why it’s not nine games."
“He’s a driver, in a good way. It’s a challenge every day – ‘Who have you talked to? What’s going on in the hockey world?’ He wants us to be as best as we possibly can. We’re a team that spends to the cap and we’ll be at the cap for a long time. He’s committing the dollars, the resources that give us the best opportunity, so we have to make sure we’re on top of things to make our hockey team better.”
On the Hurricanes’ trade deadline wish list:
“We really like our team.
A right-hand shot defenceman, I’ve got to be honest, that’s something I’ve asked around about. And then another top nine forward, potentially. Easier said than done. As you go through this, especially a shortened year, we’ve played one game with our full roster and that was opening night.
“We’re also looking at all of our positions from a depth standpoint. Is there some guys out there that we can maybe just take the money [contract]?
We’re not in the business of trading too many assets, we did that last year at the deadline. Right-shot defenceman, top-nine forward, and potentially some depth – that’s what we’re looking for.”
On what it’s like trading with other general managers:
“I always joke that there’s a few guys over the years that if you called them and offered them a first-round pick for a third-round pick, they’d have to tell you that they’ll get back to you."
“You have to know what you want. Everybody is worried, we all are, about what you’re giving up. But I always say, if you’re after a player, don’t worry about what you’re giving up as much as what you’re getting. If you’re getting someone that really helps your hockey team, if everybody is on-board, just go get it done.”
