Would Dougie Hamilton be interested in joining the Red Wings?

It isn’t every day that a top tier defenseman gets permission from his current team to speak with potential suitors. the soon to be 28-year-old Dougie Hamilton has gotten just that and boy does that make things even more interesting:

So put the Jack Eichel and Seth Jones thoughts aside (and the Athletic’s Max Bultman echoed what many have already said which is a package would be too steep for Detroit).

Would Dougie Hamilton speak to, and possibly consider coming to Detroit?

There are a Few Reasons Why it’s Possible

Nothing boots up the rebuild more than acquiring a 2020 all-star defenseman who would be a prototypical big bodies, offensive minded d-man that would instantly upgrade not only the blue line, but also the Red Wings anemic offense.

Though he’ll be 28 when the puck drops on the 2021-22 season in October, being on a blue line that includes Filip Hronek, Troy Stecher, and Moritz Seider gives Detroit firepower from the back end of the ice that they’ve lacked for nearly a decade.

Of course naming those three players also brings up the next part.

There are Reasons Why it doesn’t Make Sense

First, Yzerman set his age of adding players to 26 and younger, which technically disqualifies Hamilton. Now would exceptions be made for the right player? Absolutely. But Hamilton will most likely want term and Yzerman hasn’t really been giving out longer deals since taking the reins.

It’s also known that the decline of many players has started earlier in the cap era, so would longer term, say between 5-7 years, make sense for a defenseman who would be nearing his mid-thirties at its expiration?

Additionally, would they add another right hand shot when they are in need of lefties? Now, it’s not like Yzerman couldn’t trade one of the above to Carolina as part of the deal (Stecher seems to be the only one that applies with just a year left and having healthy scratches in 2021). Stecher is also coming off a great World Championship run, making him a nice replacement and his contract is also cheap.

But the biggest question is this: Is Hamilton going to want to come to a team that is still at least two years away from being in the playoffs? Carolina is arguably a Cup Contender and though they ran into a tough Tampa Bay squad, Carolina’s turn at a Stanley Cup run is getting closer. If Hamilton is not going to re-sign with Carolina, it’s presumably because he wants some term but also expects to be on a team that has a very good chance to win.

It could also be this:

What’s the Likelihood of Detroit and Dougie Hamilton?

Though I would love to think the Red Wings have a shot here especially since it wouldn’t potentially give as much up as say Jones, I don’t see Hamilton leaving a great situation in Carolina to endure a rebuild in Detroit. This of course changes if Yzerman sees this as an opportunity to speed things up a bit.

Yzerman has mentioned in the past that he’ll listen in on deals, and it seems right that in the opposite scenario, he’d do the same. Though it would be an awesome addition, it feels as if this move is more suited for a contender, or even a chance for Carolina to re-sign him in the end.

But what a nice surprise if Hamilton ends up in Detroit for the right price.