Two of the teams reportedly interested in Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton are the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes.
After being traded from the Boston Bruins to the Calgary Flames at the 2015 NHL Draft, many thought Dougie Hamilton wouldn’t be the subject of trade rumors for a while. This hasn’t been the case. According to Sportsnet, teams have been calling about the Flames defenseman. Two of them are the Arizona Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins.
As far as trade talks are concerned you hear Dougie Hamilton’s name out there,” Nick Kypreos said. “I don’t suggest for one second that Calgary’s shopping this guy, but there are teams inquiring. The two teams I’m hearing that are kicking tires are Arizona and Pittsburgh.”
It’s not a secret the Coyotes have been searching for another right-handed defenseman. They have two great lefties in Alex Goligoski and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but they don’t have any top pairing caliber right handed defensemen. Arizona also has the prospects necessary to pull off a trade, though their cap space situation is ugly. Because they’re committing money to people who aren’t playing, this could wait until the offseason.
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The Penguins aren’t much better off than the Coyotes as far as cap space. Nor do they have the assets the Coyotes could offer. Top prospect Daniel Sprong would likely have to be included in any offer for Hamilton. Olli Maatta could be involved in the trade as well.
Hamilton has been good for Calgary, but he’s not fitting in like they expected. He’s not even averaging 20 minutes per game, making his $5.75 million cap hit expendable. Should the Flames trade Hamilton, this could be a sign Calgary is preparing for a huge rebuild. He isn’t likely to be traded, but teams are definitely curious and want him. Perhaps someone offers Calgary a price they can’t refuse.