With the Devils believed to be searching for a new team for veteran defenseman Dougie Hamilton after scratching him today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest Saturday Headlines segment (video link) that the blueliner turned down a trade over the summer. Friedman stated that the Sharks attempted to acquire the 32-year-old over the offseason but Hamilton used his trade protection to scuttle that. San Jose has since added Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg, and Nick Leddy to their back end and given that they’ve been using LTIR all season, it stands to reason that they may not be interested in rekindling those discussions to see if Hamilton’s stance has changed. He has two years left on his contract after this one with a $9MM AAV, a price tag that will be difficult to move for value.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Sharks forward Will Smith will accompany the team on their upcoming four-game road trip, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The sophomore has missed the last four weeks due to an upper-body injury and recently returned to practice, albeit in a non-contact jersey. The fact he’s set to travel with the team suggests that Smith should be able to return at some point on the trip. Through 33 games so far, Smith has been quite productive, collecting 12 goals and 17 assists while averaging just under 18 minutes per game of playing time.
- The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Jakob Chychrun was scratched from tonight’s game against Nashville due to illness. The 27-year-old is in the middle of a breakout season, collecting 15 goals and 17 assists in 45 games. That puts him on pace to surpass his previous personal best in points (47) set last season. Washington has been carrying eight defensemen on their roster for most of the year so Chychrun’s absence didn’t necessitate a recall from the minors to fill his spot.
- Jets defenseman Colin Miller left today’s game against New Jersey due to a lower-body injury, notes Gordon Anderson of The Winnipeg Sun. The injury occurred in the first period, limiting him to just 4:14 of playing time. It has been a tough year for the 33-year-old who has been a frequent healthy scratch and has played in just 14 games so far, notching just one assist. That’s not a great showing in the final year of his contract, one that carries a $1.5MM cap charge.