The Detroit Red Wings could look to bolster their defense this offseason, and one trade idea has them acquiring a star defenseman.
Heavy.com has a trade pitch that sees the Red Wings acquiring Dougie Hamilton from the New Jersey Devils in a blockbuster deal.
Red Wings acquire:
Devils acquire:
- Michael Rasmussen
- Justin Holl
- 2026 first-round pick
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as Detroit would acquire a legit top-pair defenseman for an NHL forward, an NHL defenseman, and a first-round pick.
The Red Wings would acquire Hamilton, who has three years left on his seven-year, $63 million deal. Hamilton is 32 and is a 6-foot-6 defenseman who can add some offense but also plays well defensively and can play on the second pairing behind Moritz Seider. Having a one-two punch of Seider and Hamilton would solidify Detroit’s blue line. Hamilton recorded 9 goals and 31 assists for 40 points in 64 games last season.
In return, Detroit would deal its first-round pick as well as Rasmussen. Rasmussen was selected ninth overall in 2017 and is 26. He would be a good third-line center for the Devils. Rasmussen recorded 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 77 games. He has three years left on his four-year, $12.8 million deal.
The Red Wings would also trade Holl, who could help replace Hamilton and be a third-pairing right-shot defenseman for New Jersey. Holl is entering the final year of his three-year, $10.2 million deal. He recorded 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 73 games.
Insider: Devils Could Shop Hamilton
New Jersey’s defense is built around Luke Hughes, Brett Pesce, and Simon Nemec so Hamilton could be an odd-man out.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman wondered if New Jersey would look to trade Hamilton after they paid his bonus and his no-movement clause became a 10-team no-trade clause.
“To me, the next biggest question for the Devils is Dougie Hamilton. He went from a full no move clause to a partial no trade. I’m just curious here to see what happens. They paid him his bonus on July 1st,” Friedman said on 32 Thoughts. “I don’t have a great feel for it in terms of percentage chances that anything occurs with him. But I know that his name was kind of out there a little bit. And I’ve heard they’ve been talking to a couple of teams. So we’ll see where that goes.”
New Jersey signed Hamilton as a free agent in 2021. The star defenseman has also played for the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes in his career.
Red Wings Sign Intriguing Right-Shot Defenseman
Detroit has already made one move to add a right-shot defenseman by signing Jacob Bernard-Docker to a one-year deal.
Bernard-Docker signed a one-year, $875k deal as he is just 25 and is now set to be on his third NHL team. He currently projects to be Detroit’s second-pairing defenseman and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is exciyetd to have him.
“Jacob Bernard-Docker on defense gives us a little bit of depth,” Yzerman said on July 3. “Kind of not a big-name signing or whatever, but has been an effective player in his time in Ottawa and particularly plays hard and competes.”
Bernard-Docker spent last season with the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres. He skated in 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 40 games.
Trade Idea Has Red Wings Acquiring $63M Star Defenseman in Blockbuster