According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the frontrunners for defenseman Dougie Hamilton but only if they can get his salary retained.
With the rumors ramping up regarding the future of Dougie Hamilton in New Jersey as the veteran defenseman has been seemingly told to get his ducks in a row and figure out where he would like to play next because it's become clear they want to trade him.
It's going to be a fight until the bitter end to see who comes out the winner of the Hamilton sweepstakes and the Toronto Maple Leafs are a team who are very much in the thick of things but with a lack of assets it's going to be a bit tougher than normal.
Toronto wants Dougie Hamilton...if they can save some money
There's also going to be another key factor they have to ensure is part of a Hamilton deal and according to Pierre LeBrun; it's all about the money.
LeBrun appeared on TSN's Insider Trading and explained that if the Maple Leafs were to bring in Hamilton, the Devils would need to retain salary as Toronto is almost guaranteed to want some help in taking on the $9-million cap hit:
Carolina and Toronto are among the potential fits. Let me stress potential. Of course, he was with the Hurricanes and played well there.
But it would really depend in terms of whether Carolina would go down that road and in terms of what New Jersey would take back in exchange.
And with the Leafs, I think there's no question they're not taking him at $9 million a year, the Devils would have to retain.
So we'll see where it goes. They hope to get this done before the Olympic break.
It's not easy to ask a team to retain up to $4.5-million in essentially dead cap in order to facilitate a trade no matter how desperate and that means Toronto is going to need to pay a hefty fee for Hamilton's services.
Frank Seravalli also noted that Toronto's interest in Hamilton also has to do with their revamped power-play and their desire to add a heavy shot puck-mover on the backend:
One team that I would keep an eye on, because they've been searching for powerplay help on their blueline would be the Maple Leafs.
So now it becomes a matter of what goes the other way. If Toronto gets even 30% retention on Hamilton's deal, that is still a $6.3-million cap hit so the team will need to have to use Chris Tanev's LTIR money and find a way to open up space plus make it worth the Devils' while.
Who goes to New Jersey in a deal for Dougie Hamilton?
A package involving Ben Danford, Calle Järnkrok, Philippe Myers and perhaps their 2027 second-round pick would be enough to suffice Fitzgerald on both a current and future level.
Danford is the obvious centerpiece of the deal, meanwhile Jarnkrok can offer a lot of versatility for Sheldon Keefe (a coach he thrived under).
Myers is a solid depth defender and the pick is actually a fairly valuable one all things considered; it's one of five picks Toronto has in the first three rounds until 2029.
But that's a lot to ask for Hamilton, a player who doesn't solve Toronto's age issues and is still going to be a fairly expensive hit and as we've seen with Morgan Rielly; any regression is going to come with a lot of backlash.
So if Toronto is going after Dougie Hamilton they are going to only do so if it doesn't cost them a huge chunk of their cap. But that comes at potentially an even higher price of losing one of their last top prospects for the chance at glory now.
Should the Maple Leafs pursue or avoid Dougie Hamilton?
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