The Red Wings could have a very different trade deadline this season. In previous years, Detroit has been sellers amid an ongoing rebuild. This season seems to indicate the rebuild is over.
Now, the club is shifting towards buyer mode. That much was evident during the run-up to the Quinn Hughes trade. GM Steve Yzerman threw his hat in the ring, though he was trigger-shy in the end.
That’s fine. The rumored package potentially heading to Vancouver for Hughes would have been tough to stomach.
But just because Yzerman thought twice about Hughes doesn’t mean he’s afraid of pulling the trigger altogether. A report on RG Media published Monday suggests that the Red Wings are among the teams pursuing New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
Hamilton trade rumors are nothing new, but they’ve kicked into high gear this weekend. Hamilton’s public scratch on Sunday only fueled speculation about an impending trade. Elliotte Friedman’s comments on Saturday night blew the doors off the story.
As such, an anonymous source spoke to veteran journalist James Murphy of RG and said, “That all changed on Saturday because now Hamilton clearly wants out. I’d keep an eye on the Ducks, Leafs, Knights, Red Wings, and Mammoth. I think something happens really soon.”
Of course, all rumors must be taken with a grain of salt. But there’s enough reason to believe the Red Wings would be in pursuit of Hamilton. The Wings are one of the few teams with the cap space to fit Hamilton. They’re also a playoff team and could use another solid blueliner.
As for the timeline, “really soon” is quite a vague reference. If anything, a deal could go down before the Olympic break. Rosters freeze on Feb. 4 and will remain locked for about three weeks.
Red Wings have one distinct advantage over other clubs
The biggest advantage the Red Wings have over other clubs pursuing Hamilton is cap space. The Red Wings have over $13 million, according to PuckPedia. That situation means that the Red Wings would not have too much of an issue fitting his cap hit.
But there is one caveat. The return package New Jersey could be looking for may not seem as outlandish as you might believe.
According to Murphy’s source, the Utah Mammoth have put this on the table: “I’d keep an eye on Nick Schmaltz, Nate Schmidt, and a pick with Utah there.”
If such a trade package were real, the Red Wings could land Hamilton for a middle-six forward, a depth defenseman, and a draft pick. It would be ludicrous to think that a draft pick would be a first-rounder.
Perhaps forwards like Andrew Copp or J.T. Compher, a defenseman like Jacob Bernard-Docker, and a second-round pick could get the deal done.
That’s all hearsay, of course. But it’s hard to find a solid argument against the Red Wings being players.
As for Hamilton’s contract, he has two more years remaining at $9 million per season. It’s a high cap hit, but does fit within Yzerman’s vision of having veterans on relatively short-term deals.
Ultimately, the likelihood of this deal happening may not be quite so high. But Yzerman would be remiss if he didn’t at least kick the tires on what it would take to bring Dougie Hamilton to Detroit.