Elliotte Friedman delves deeper into Dougie Hamilton-Devils drama after agent claims healthy scratch forces trade by New Jersey

The New Jersey Devils demoted defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the fourth line during their practice on Saturday before indicating that he would miss Sunday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.

According to general manager Tom Fitzgerald, writing for The Athletic on Saturday, Hamilton’s demotion came about because the right side of their blue line is completely intact. Simon Nemec returned to the lineup on Thursday to join Brett Pesce and Jonathan Kovacevic is likely to make his first appearance of the season on Saturday.

But according to Hamilton’s agent, J.P. Barry, who spoke to Pierre LeBrun on Saturday, the Devils scratching his client was a “business decision” to force him to accept a trade.

According to insider Elliotte Friedman, on Sportsnet’s Saturday Headlines segment, things have become tense between the team and the player. He pointed to Hamilton’s partial no-move trade clause, which includes 20 teams.

Among those, the San Jose Sharks have inquired about a potential trade in the summer, a move that Hamilton and Barry have blocked. Friedman believes that with the way the Sharks are currently playing, things might change.

“Hamilton has moved to a partial no-trade clause this season. He can only be traded to one of 10 teams,” Friedman said. “The other 21 he could block. One thing we realize is that in the summer, San Jose tried to trade for him, and Hamilton blocked the move. Now, the way things are going now for the Sharks, maybe he’ll change his mind. They’re one of the best teams in the NHL to watch.”

“But the truth is that Barry has indicated that they would consider discussing some of the teams that Hamilton could block a trade with, but there is no doubt at the moment that feelings are very raw on both sides. Losing does that. And Hamilton feeling like he is being targeted for non-performance reasons certainly is that.”

Elliott Friedman is certain that Dougie Hamilton will not opt ​​out of his contract

Dougie Hamilton’s seven-year, $63 million contract is only worth $49.5 million at the end of the season, Friedman revealed. And with him receiving a $7.4 million signing bonus at the start of next season, it is unlikely he will play out his contract.

“The only thing I can say is that people were wondering today if he was going to terminate his contract,” he said. “He’s got two years after this year at about 13.6 million. I’m told the answer to that is no. Hamilton is due $8.4 million next year, including a $7.4 million bonus in the summer. That’s what I understand is not on the table. So we’ll see if everyone can work together here to get something done.”

Hamilton has five goals and ten points in 40 games this season. His best season in his career came in the 2022-23 season, when he scored 74 points. Before signing his contract with the Devils, he had a plus-30 season in 2019-20 and a plus-20 season in 2020-21 with the Carolina Hurricanes that earned him a big payday.