It’s obvious that the Boston Bruins want to do all they can in order to keep Dougie Hamilton in the Black and Gold. Retaining him or giving him up will be one of the biggest stamps on the new Don Sweeney era. Now, it’s up to the Bruins organization has to figure out a way to keep him and still get under the projected salary cap.
Puck Prose
Hamilton was grabbed by the Bruins in the first round (ninth overall) in the 2011 draft. In his three NHL seasons, he’s played 178 games in a Bruins uniform. He’s continued to improve each season for the Bruins, and he racked up personal bests last season in goals (10), and overall points (42).
Hamilton had to step up big time for the Black and Gold when injuries claimed Zdeno Chara. While the Bruins didn’t make the post-season, Dougie made an acceptable accounting of himself. He led Bruins defensemen in points. Overall, he was third in time on ice per game (21:20). Dougie Hamilton also has the ability to act as a fourth forward and has been quite useful to the B’s on special teams.
To be fair, Dougie is not as a solid on the blueline as the Bruins need him to be. (He was a -7 against in four games against the Habs, and a -3 for the season.)It’s not due to incompetence or laziness. He’s still a really young defensemen, and the B’s did ask a lot of him to take over being the top defensemen while Chara and Dennis Seidenberg toughed through their injuries last season.
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There’s no doubt that Dougie Hamilton is deserving of a big raise. But how big?
According to the team over at Comcast, the Bruins and the Hamilton camp haven’t even begun to talk yet. From everything Hamilton has said over the last few months, it’s obvious that Dougie wants to stay in Boston. So, we’ve got a 21-year old who wants to play with the team, and an agent telling him to hold out for as long as possible. In short, a recipe for disaster.
So, why has there been no talks to date? Hopefully, his agent is telling him to hold out for a reason. That reason? He wants to see if anyone will throw his client an offer sheet.
While it’s rather uncommon for a team to extend an offer sheet, it could happen. That would give the Hamilton camp a tangible, third-party opinion of what they believe Dougie’s worth is. It would also give the Bruins a look at what kind of draft picks the B’s would get if Hamilton were to take such an action.
If Don Sweeney wants to maintain the fans’ credibility as the B’s general manager, the last thing he can do is sign up another player for a long-term, no-trade contract. Especially if that contract is for a player that is not at his full potential.
Let’s hope it doesn’t have to come to that.
What’s the best solution? If the Bruins have to give Hamilton six million(or more) a year, they’re going to need to make it a bridge contract. While I am no fan of putting Dougie Hamilton and P.K. Subban in the same sentence, we should in this case. Let Hamilton know that he’s respected and desired by the team, but make it plain to him if that he wants to see the playoffs in the next two years as a Bruin, he’ll need to give a little on his end.
A two-year, nine-to-ten million dollar deal would make the most amount of sense for all parties concerned. The contract would last long enough for the Bruins to get themselves out of cap jail. It would also give two more seasons for Hamilton to turn into a top twenty defensemen in the NHL.