{"id":409485,"date":"2026-01-15T20:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/409485\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:36:25","slug":"red-wings-trade-target-dougie-hamilton-the-hockey-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/409485\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Wings Trade Target: Dougie Hamilton – The Hockey Writers –"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the Detroit Red Wings\u2014and all other hockey teams\u2014being in the right place at the right time is paramount to success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one more factor, though, and that\u2019s being ready at that particular moment. How you show up is equally as important as being in the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n

This is how goals are scored and saves are made. It\u2019s also how trades are completed.<\/p>\n

Right now, an opportunity is brewing in New Jersey. The relationship between the Devils and defenseman Dougie Hamilton<\/a> has soured, and there\u2019s a good chance he\u2019s dealt soon<\/a>. The Red Wings need to seize this moment \u2013 1) it\u2019s the right time and 2) Detroit is well-prepared for a trade given their organizational depth and abundance of cap space. Now, they just need to show up in the right place to get a deal done \u2013 Tom Fitzgerald\u2019s inbox.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Red Wings Need to Target Hamilton<\/p>\n

Detroit is reportedly in the mix for Hamilton\u2019s services, which tracks with the Red Wings\u2019 need to add defensive depth. Hamilton isn\u2019t exactly what I originally had in mind, but he addresses the need nonetheless.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"RedNew Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton (Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

He has been deployed in a top-four role with the Devils this season and roughly 40 percent of his time has been defending against elite completion. During that time, Hamilton has a positive high-danger chances differential (54.6 percent) \u2013 topping that of Jonas Siegenthaler (45.3 percent) and Luke Hughes (46.3 percent) in similar minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition, he\u2019s only been on the ice for 2.04 goals against per 60 at five in five. For reference, that\u2019s in a similar ballpark as Moritz Seider<\/a> (2.02) and Simon Edvinsson (2.32), though Detroit\u2019s duo has a slightly more difficult deployment. Similarly, his 7.59 goals against per 60 while shorthanded shows that he can kill penalties effectively, too. Hamilton has played the third-most penalty kill minutes among Devils blueliners (63:12).<\/p>\n

Related: Red Wings News & Rumors: Trade Targets, Draper, DeBrincat & More<\/a><\/p>\n

The knock on 32-year-old\u2014apart from the $9 million cap hit through 2028\u2014is that his offensive game has declined. His 4.46 shooting percentage is below his career average and he\u2019s only been on the ice for 1.8 goals for at five on five. That said, New Jersey\u2019s shot attempts, high-danger chances, and expected goals for are very respectable when Hamilton is on the ice, suggesting that his \u201cdecline\u201d is more related to puck luck than player impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cost for Detroit to Acquire Hamilton<\/p>\n

For any deal to be completed, Hamilton would need to accept a move to Detroit \u2013 whether that\u2019s through his 10-team trade list or making an exception for the Red Wings. And if he approves, the cost likely won\u2019t be very high. We\u2019ve reached the point in the Hamilton\/Devils where this is more of a change of scenery cap dump than anything \u2013 like the Jacob Trouba trade to Anaheim<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed that the cost could be in the range of a modest draft pick and a depth NHLer, with the pick being anywhere from a second to a fourth depending on the player included in the deal. The reason for such a low cost is the cap hit \u2013 not many teams can take on $9 million over the next two-plus years. Detroit can, though. And New Jersey desperately needs the cap space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This has the potential to be a win-win. Detroit has the assets to make a deal and would greatly benefit from Hamilton\u2019s presence. On the other side, the Devils would free up $9 million<\/a> from the books over the next few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Final Word<\/p>\n

Given Hamilton\u2019s potential impact, fit on Detroit\u2019s blue line, and the relatively low cost, the Red Wings should be aggressive in pursuing the defenseman. He\u2019d be a natural fit next to either Ben Chiarot or Simon Edvinsson, and would allow Detroit to be more strategic with Axel Sandin-Pellikka\u2019s deployment this season. Plus, the team needs defensive depth<\/a> to solidify their playoff position down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Moving into the future, Hamilton gives the Red Wings another towering defenseman with loads of experience. And if they decide to move on from Chiarot in the offseason, Hamilton could seamlessly step into his role \u2013 just on the right side. Overall, he\u2019d be a great acquisition if the Red Wings can seize the opportunity at hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Data courtesy of NHL.com<\/a>, Natural Stat Trick<\/a>, PuckPedia<\/a>, and PuckIQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the Detroit Red Wings\u2014and all other hockey teams\u2014being in the right place at the right time is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5101],"tags":[23057,599,93,5137,1294,5,4,546,3358,5138],"class_list":{"0":"post-409485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-red-wings","8":"tag-2026-nhl-trade-deadline","9":"tag-detroit","10":"tag-detroit-red-wings","11":"tag-detroitredwings","12":"tag-dougie-hamilton","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-nhl-trade-rumors","16":"tag-red-wings","17":"tag-redwings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115901037570777485","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}