You could say it was a match made in heaven, however given the team’s moniker that might not be an apt analogy. As the NHL free agency period opened on Wednesday, one of the most sought after free agents on the market, Dougie Hamilton, found a new home in Newark, New Jersey.
The 6’6” blue liner inked a massive 7-year/$63M contract that will keep him in New Jersey through his age 35 season. Hamilton, originally drafted 9th overall by the Boston Bruins, spent the last 3 seasons in Carolina on the Hurricanes top defensive pairing. There he would post 121pts in 155 games, and help guide the Canes to the 2nd round of the playoffs before bowing out to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions in Tampa.
Hamilton’s big pay day will see him earn almost twice as much as his previous 6 year/$5.75M AAV deal which expired at season’s end. The towering Canadian becomes the Devils’ 2nd $9M/season blue liner under contract as they still have PK Subban on their roster for one more year.
While the number is a hefty one, the Devils can afford to take on salary as many of their core pieces (Hughes, Hischier etc.) are still on rookie deals for the time being. With PK unlikely to be re-signed by the team at the end of the year, the Devils will have an additional $9M per season to play with when negotiating either long term or bridge deals with their talented youngsters.
Compared to the reported 8 year/$9.5M AAV contract that newly acquired defenseman Seth Jones is expected to sign in Chicago next week, the Hamilton contract looks like a relative bargain. Teams have been weary of doling out contracts in the double digit range to blue liners since the ill fated 8 year/$92M deal San Jose signed Erik Karlsson to a few years back. Karlsson’s $11.5M AAV still has 6 years remaining on it and is viewed as one of the most unmoveable contracts in hockey.
The Devils now have Hamilton, Graves, Subban, Severson, Smith and Siegenthaler penciled in on their defensive depth chart for the 2021-22 season. New Jersey recently drafted defenseman Luke Hughes (brother of current Devil, Jack) 4th overall in the NHL Entry draft, however he is expected to hone his craft at the University of Michigan this season. While the Devils certainly haven’t been shy about having their other recent high draft picks make the jump directly into the NHL ranks, defensemen historically take longer to develop, so common sense would say not to expect to see the youngest Hughes brother in black and red anytime soon.
New Jersey opens their season at home on October 15th against Chicago where fans will get to see two of the richest defensemen in the league in Hamilton and Jones make their debuts with their new organizations.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner