Over the weekend the Pittsburgh Penguins were mentioned by Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos as a team that is potentially interested in Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton. It appears the Flames are open to the idea of moving Hamilton, but are not actively shopping him. Here is what Kypreos said
The part of Calgary’s roster with the most depth is the blueline, so if the Flames ever did make a trade they might start there. Kypreos said the two inquiring teams had especially focused on 23-year-old Dougie Hamilton.“As far as trade talks are concerned you hear Dougie Hamilton’s name out there,… Kypreos said, before downplaying Calgary’s interest in moving him right now. “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 is no secret that I believe the Penguins should be looking for another top four defenseman that can slot in behind Kris Letang on the right side. Currently Trevor Daley is holding that position down, but he is getting older and his contract will be up at the end of the season. The team should be looking for his replacement.
So let’s take a look at Dougie Hamilton and how he has performed over the past few years:
On the surface it appears that Hamilton is a legitimate top four defender. He is able to generate offense and facilitate the offensive push at even-strength. He may not be the best at suppressing shot attempts, but his ability to generate more than makes up for it. This style would probably mesh well with how Pittsburgh plays.
As for this year Hamilton is playing solid hockey. Calgary as a team has been much improved on the possession front. They are ninth overall at 51.5% at 5v5 this year. Hamilton’s relative Corsi percentage is +1.89% which tells me that he is above average on an above average team. He is driving play. Offensively his 5v5 points per 60 is at 1.39 so far. For context Kris Letang is currently at 1.25. The only thing that I can find about Hamilton right now that isn’t good is his power play production. Last year on the power play he was at 4.77 points per 60 and so far this year that has fallen to 1.12. It’s a huge drop off, but at the same time with samples so small early in the year they can be volatile and subject to huge drops and/or gains. Kris Letang was 5.31 last year to put Hamilton’s 2015-16 power play performance into context.
Dougie Hamliton’s larger sample speaks to him being a productive member of a power play unit I wouldn’t be concerned with how this year has started. Calgary as a team is only 9.4% on the power play right now. Nobody is doing anything for them.
So, why is Calgary open to dealing Hamilton? I don’t know. I wouldn’t be looking to deal him if I were Calgary. Hamilton’s 5.75M cap hit for the next four and a half seasons is good value from where I’m sitting. He should be a part of the solution in Calgary. That said, what would a Hamilton trade look like from a Pittsburgh perspective?
Both Pittsburgh and Calgary are close to the cap ceiling. Any trade would have to be dollar for dollar. Marc-Andre Fleury makes the same 5.75M that Hamilton does. Calgary is once again near the bottom of the NHL in goaltending even after the Elliott trade. While it makes a lot of sense for the Penguins to have Fleury be the main part of a Hamilton trade I don’t think that is too appealing to Calgary, or at least it shouldn’t be. A non-Fleury trade would probably look similar to what I have suggested for the Jets Jacob Trouba. Olli Maatta and Eric Fehr for Dougie Hamilton. The money is just about even.
Eric Fehr is a bit part for the Penguins and has a very expendable 2-million-dollar cap hit. The real question for Pittsburgh would be if they wanted to move the cheaper Maatta for the more expensive Hamilton. I will continue to beat the drum that one of Pittsburgh’s biggest short and long term need is a right defenseman to slot behind Letang. It isn’t as easy to find high caliber players to play the right side as it is on the left.
For now, I wouldn’t aggressively pursue Hamilton if I were the Penguins. Pittsburgh should keep an open mind on this front and if the Flames were OK with a Fleury-centric deal that would definitely be something I would pursue. If not, I would let things play out and keep my attention on Jacob Trouba who I still believe can be had on the trade market.
It’s tough to accurately peg down what Calgary would want in a Hamilton trade because I don’t see the logic in trading him in the first place.
Chances are nothing materializes between Calgary and Pittsburgh on the Hamilton front, but it does tell us that Pittsburgh is looking for a second pairing right defender.
Thanks for reading!