Dougie Hamilton and his many suitors
Matt Larkin of SI.com (The Hockey News): A growing list of suitors for Dougie Hamilton is slowly taking shape. Remember, there is no more five-day early negotiation window. Allowing Hamilton this option is viewed as a gesture of goodwill by Carolina. It is why the Hurricanes cannot be completely counted out as of yet.
Hamilton is just 28 and square in his prime so his AAV could be around $8.5-9 million. It may be even more. No one knows. What is known is that many calls are coming in.
Chicago, Philadelphia, and Winnipeg are the first that come to mind when it comes to the star defenseman. The Blackhawks possess cap space for the first time in forever. Then, there is Philadelphia and their desperate need for a top-pairing blueliner to go with Ivan Provorov. Finally, the Winnipeg Jets also need that impact primary defender.
After that, teams like Edmonton and Toronto generate headlines but likely do not have the pieces or the dollars to make such a move. That does not mean count them out but decrease the probabilities a bit.
Detroit and Los Angeles are likely too early in their rebuilds but New Jersey could be a team to keep an eye on. They have cash galore and might get better in a hurry after COVID ravaged their team last season.
San Jose Sharks and UFA centers…
Sheng Peng on San Jose Hockey NOW: The Sharks expect to seek a center this summer. Paul Stastny and Ryan Getzlaf could be good fits. They could be a good one to two-year stopgaps for a middle-six role (3C). After that, centers tend to drop off via free agency a bit.
San Jose wants a more defensively oriented center according to Doug Wilson. That appears to be the plan anyway.
This would help ease the burden on Logan Couture. for one. It will be interesting to see if the Sharks go with a Travis Zajac-like player or even a Philipp Danault, should he become available.