[Jake Tye]Why Dougie Hamilton Is Not The Right Fit For Detroit
January 14, 2026
[Jake Tye]Why Dougie Hamilton Is Not The Right Fit For Detroit
18 comments
Oof.. I dunno about this. I’m definitely not opposed of seeing Dougie in Detroit. Huge right handed shot Dman surely the team can be a right fit for him.
There’s definitely a lot of due diligence that would need to go into vetting Hamilton’s fit with the team. He’s worn out his welcome with four franchises despite good results in the ice, outside this year. Given what I’ve heard about his introverted, quiet intellectual vibe it seems like a legitimate question whether or not he’s still interested in playing in the NHL.
1000% agree. Dougie is a good player sure, but no way is he worth that 9m cap hit. I’d however take him for about 5-6m considering his deal expires the same time ASP contract expires
Valid question, honestly. The team isn’t winning on pure talent so much as high morale and good team cohesion. Don’t wanna ruin that.
1000% agree
Think he’s on the wrong end of his career. I was a huge fan when he was in Calgary He was one of like the hot rumors that we would be acquiring him. Was he being an improvement? Yes, but what’s the price?
If there are so many other options wouldn’t that drive down the price though?
Anyone who’d bump down AlJo or JBD one spot would do wonders for the whole team. That pair seems to get hemmed in their own zone too often so we spend an entire shift trying to dig out of a hole or they turn it over trying to break out and we are back to the first issue. I think improving one D spot could help the scoring by having better breakouts. JBD seems to routinely fail at moving the puck up the ice.
The guy has been kind of cooked since he got to New Jersey. He would be an upgrade over JBD/Hamonic but isn’t worth paying $9M over this year and next year though.
The cap hit isn’t an issue to us. The only player on our roster who is due a big extension in the next 2 years is Ed. I would just hope having Hamilton at 9m , wouldn’t make Ed want more but who knows.
We can afford the cap hit and he immediately makes our d core better. I’d rather give out a 4th round pick for Dougie than a 1st + Danielson for Andersson + a 9m+ extension.
Agree
Yzerman smarter than that tho
>Lastly, there are too many other better options at a far better price tag. On the open market as of today, there’s players like Andersson in Calgary as well as St. Louis’ Justin Faulk, Chicago’s Connor Murphy and Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn are all options that could work into the profile that the [Red Wings](https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings) are looking for and could come in at a much better deal. **It just wouldn’t make sense for the** [**Red Wings**](https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings) **to take on such a bad contract and a slumping player when they need to hold onto money for future extensions and could go out on the market and get an option that is just as good, cheaper and at a better price tag.**
I think the last part of the article sums it up best. No thanks. Also the video of that guy talking about the Wings is out-of-date. He commented on their negative goal diff and about neither goaltender having a SV% over .900
WE DONT WANT HIM 📢📢
I wouldn’t want him even half retained. Not the fit here. He’s getting teams to drop his no trade based on availability on the ice. He will get pushed out by younger, better defenders. Then we’re stuck with him. So no.
Because he’s washed
Flat no. Not a good fit.
Oh hell no. We don’t need to sign yet another average player who disappears for games on end and is a defensive liability.
If they retained he’d probably be fine. Problem is we’re a full 3rd pair short right now, Aljo isn’t cutting it and neither is the revolving door on the right side. Can probably get Hamilton with salary retained for JBD and a 4th, shell out a 2nd for Stanley
Ideally they get Rasmus Johansson and he plays the second pair knocking ASP to the third pair. Still have Albert/ASP as an undersized inexperienced third pair but the top 4 will be minute munchers so that may not be that bad.
Now I know he wants Vegas and like Cat forced his move will likely get that. But until he is not an option I’ll keep dreaming. Ha
Plus if they can’t get him maybe Faulk is an option. And he has two years left I think which should work with ASP getting stronger and better.
18 comments
Oof.. I dunno about this. I’m definitely not opposed of seeing Dougie in Detroit. Huge right handed shot Dman surely the team can be a right fit for him.
There’s definitely a lot of due diligence that would need to go into vetting Hamilton’s fit with the team. He’s worn out his welcome with four franchises despite good results in the ice, outside this year. Given what I’ve heard about his introverted, quiet intellectual vibe it seems like a legitimate question whether or not he’s still interested in playing in the NHL.
1000% agree. Dougie is a good player sure, but no way is he worth that 9m cap hit. I’d however take him for about 5-6m considering his deal expires the same time ASP contract expires
Valid question, honestly. The team isn’t winning on pure talent so much as high morale and good team cohesion. Don’t wanna ruin that.
1000% agree
Think he’s on the wrong end of his career. I was a huge fan when he was in Calgary He was one of like the hot rumors that we would be acquiring him. Was he being an improvement? Yes, but what’s the price?
If there are so many other options wouldn’t that drive down the price though?
Anyone who’d bump down AlJo or JBD one spot would do wonders for the whole team. That pair seems to get hemmed in their own zone too often so we spend an entire shift trying to dig out of a hole or they turn it over trying to break out and we are back to the first issue. I think improving one D spot could help the scoring by having better breakouts. JBD seems to routinely fail at moving the puck up the ice.
The guy has been kind of cooked since he got to New Jersey. He would be an upgrade over JBD/Hamonic but isn’t worth paying $9M over this year and next year though.
The cap hit isn’t an issue to us. The only player on our roster who is due a big extension in the next 2 years is Ed. I would just hope having Hamilton at 9m , wouldn’t make Ed want more but who knows.
We can afford the cap hit and he immediately makes our d core better. I’d rather give out a 4th round pick for Dougie than a 1st + Danielson for Andersson + a 9m+ extension.
Agree
Yzerman smarter than that tho
>Lastly, there are too many other better options at a far better price tag. On the open market as of today, there’s players like Andersson in Calgary as well as St. Louis’ Justin Faulk, Chicago’s Connor Murphy and Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn are all options that could work into the profile that the [Red Wings](https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings) are looking for and could come in at a much better deal. **It just wouldn’t make sense for the** [**Red Wings**](https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings) **to take on such a bad contract and a slumping player when they need to hold onto money for future extensions and could go out on the market and get an option that is just as good, cheaper and at a better price tag.**
I think the last part of the article sums it up best. No thanks. Also the video of that guy talking about the Wings is out-of-date. He commented on their negative goal diff and about neither goaltender having a SV% over .900
WE DONT WANT HIM 📢📢
I wouldn’t want him even half retained. Not the fit here. He’s getting teams to drop his no trade based on availability on the ice. He will get pushed out by younger, better defenders. Then we’re stuck with him. So no.
Because he’s washed
Flat no. Not a good fit.
Oh hell no. We don’t need to sign yet another average player who disappears for games on end and is a defensive liability.
If they retained he’d probably be fine. Problem is we’re a full 3rd pair short right now, Aljo isn’t cutting it and neither is the revolving door on the right side. Can probably get Hamilton with salary retained for JBD and a 4th, shell out a 2nd for Stanley
Ideally they get Rasmus Johansson and he plays the second pair knocking ASP to the third pair. Still have Albert/ASP as an undersized inexperienced third pair but the top 4 will be minute munchers so that may not be that bad.
Now I know he wants Vegas and like Cat forced his move will likely get that. But until he is not an option I’ll keep dreaming. Ha
Plus if they can’t get him maybe Faulk is an option. And he has two years left I think which should work with ASP getting stronger and better.
Not ready to go for third or fourth options.