Dougie Hamilton signs with the Calgary Flames.
At the NHL Draft Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had commented that defenseman Dougie Hamilton wouldn’t be comfortable in a long-term deal with the Black and Gold. While the Bruins were more than willing to give the 22-yr old blueliner a solid contract, the two sides just couldn’t find any common ground. In the end, Sweeney decided to cut his losses and move the young defenseman to the Calgary Flames.
“I don’t believe that Dougie would have been comfortable in Boston going forward for long term. The spread, for me, was a sharper indication that I felt we would be better served to head in a different direction at this time.” – Don Sweeney on moving Dougie Hamilton
Naturally, the Boston Bruins fan base went ballistic. They saw the B’s first major move under the Sweeney era as a disaster and made their feelings known on social media. The fans at the BB&T center openly jeered the Bruins GM as he went up to name their three picks. The anger of the fan base was agitated further when reports came out (apparently out of thin air) that Dougie Hamilton wasn’t liked in the locker room. He was regarded as an uppity loner who no one on the team liked. It sounded like the Tyler Seguin take down all over again.
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The Bruins did to try to keep Hamilton in Boston, offering him a six-year, $33 million dollar contract. Yesterday, the Calgary Flames were able to come to terms with Hamilton over a contract. The Flames offered him a six year deal as well. According to TSN’s Darren Drager, Dougie Hamilton will be getting paid close to $34.5 million dollars overall, with an annual cap hit around $5.75 million dollars.
So, for barely more than what the Bruins offered him, Hamilton took from the Calgary Flames. Well, it appears that Don Sweeney was right about Hamilton not wanting to stay in Boston. While there is still no verification about the ‘attitude’ Hamilton supposedly had, his signing has certainly made Flames GM Brad Treliving sleep better at night.
“I’m not going to comment on any anonymous people out there,” offered Treviling, courtesy of the Calgary Sun. “But we’ve done our homework — thorough homework — both on the player and the person, and we are over-the-moon excited about the player and the person that we’re getting,” Treliving said. “We think he’s going to fit like a glove — on and off the ice — with us.
“This type of player doesn’t come around very often at this age. You’re talking about a very intelligent kid. He’s a 98% student. He won the scholastic award (in the Ontario Hockey League in 2011). I like that he’s a very cerebral kid. Smart. Intelligent. This doesn’t keep me awake at night. Since the day we got Dougie Hamilton, I’ve had the best sleeps of the past few years. I’ve slept like a baby.”
Hamilton, a Toronto native, was picked by the Boston Bruins in the first round(ninth overall) in 2011. That trade pick was part of the compensation the Bruins got from the Maple Leafs in the Phil Kessel trade. Brian Burke made that deal for Toronto, and now he’s president of the Flames.
Maybe it’s just a large attempt at damage control, but it seems that Sweeney is correcting or negated some of the supposed blunders that occurred during the draft weekend. It’s just a shame that Dougie never felt comfortable in Boston.