Elliotte Friedman reveals two failed trades involving $72 million Devils defenseman
Photo credit: All About The Jersey
The New Jersey Devils have been trying to make big trades in recent times, and it appears as though Dougie Hamilton has been at the centre of two failed ones.
Over the past few weeks, the expectation for many was that the New Jersey Devils would land Quinn Hughes in a trade, but unfortunately for the team, they were easily outbid by the Minnesota Wild.
That brought up many discussions about the Devils salary cap and how they could potentially get better ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, and all we now know from that is that they've put themselves in a very tough position.
The position they've put themselves in comes from some surprising trade protections that they gave to players, and now, it's apparently coming back to haunt them as they look to shed salary and make some deals.
Dougie Hamilton seemingly a part of two vetoed trades already
In his latest written 32 Thoughts piece, Elliotte Friedman opens up on the situation in New Jersey, and while he can't confirm that two vetoed trades involved Dougie Hamilton, he appears to believe that is what happened.
They've had at least one - and possibly two - vetoed trades. There are several players with protection. I have my suspicions, but no proof. I've never heard Ondrej Palat's name, and I suspect that if they want to move Dougie Hamilton, it will have to be to one of the 10 teams on his list. If not, forget it. This chapter of the book is not over, however. At the very least, they continue to investigate options to move money when the time comes. - Elliotte Friedman
According to Friedman, he has a 10-team list that he would approve a trade to, and in the pursuit of Hughes, they seemingly tried to get him to budge, but as of right now, he remains a Devil while Hughes ended up with the Wild.
Ultimately, this may hold back the Devils from making significant moves ahead of the deadline, but after giving Hamilton and Ondrej Palat among others trade protection, they have no one but themselves to blame.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 20|400 ANSWERS Elliotte Friedman reveals two failed trades involving $72 million Devils defenseman Will the Devils trade Dougie Hamilton this season? | ||
| Yes | 235 | 58.8 % |
| No | 165 | 41.3 % |
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