Maple Leafs linked to Devils’ Dougie Hamilton

The 2025-26 season has gone from bad to worse for the New Jersey Devils, who missed out on the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes and have now lost eight of their last 11 games, falling to sixth place in the Metropolitan Division in the process.

It’s been a different story for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are surging in the New Year. Toronto has won eight of 11, returning to playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. And they are on the lookout for a puck moving defenseman following the brutal injury news regarding stalwart blue liner Chris Tanev.

The Leafs appear to have interest in Devils D-man Dougie Hamilton, who was healthy scratched last week and subsequently put on the trade block. Hamilton’s agent released a statement saying his camp would seek a trade, and as hockey insider Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday, the Leafs could be a fit for the veteran.

“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,” LeBrun said on the latest edition of TSN’s Insider Trading. “So we’ll see where it goes. (The Devils) hope to get this done before the Olympic break.”

Hamilton’s $9 million cap hit certainly complicates things; it doesn’t help that he’s having one of his worst professional seasons in 2025-26, chipping in just 12 points in 41 games. The 32-year-old was born in Toronto, so it would be a homecoming of sorts.

Still, he has two years remaining on his contract after this year, and that hefty price is the main hurdle in a potential trade out of Newark.

Both Maple Leafs, Devils have limited cap space

The Leafs would need to create room to facilitate Hamilton’s salary — even if the Devils were willing to retain. That could happen if Tanev and his $4.5 million cap hit are placed on LTIR, which would give the team just over $3.8 million to spend over the cap, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.

Pagnotta believes that the Leafs could dangle one of Mattias Maccelli ($3.425M AAV), Max Domi ($3.75M) or Brandon Carlo ($3.485M); the hockey insider thinks Toronto will have to include a roster player to get the deal done.

The Devils are also strapped tight to the salary cap, and could move on from forward Ondrej Palat and his $6 million cap hit. The Czech forward owns a 10-team trade list.

“One final thing is that New Jersey needs to move money too,” LeBrun continued. “That’s what they’re focused on now in a separate deal. Palat is the player they’re trying to move. Again, not an easy proposition.”

For the Leafs, Hamilton’s powerplay prowess probably stands out as the most significant factor in their interest. Although the man advantage has been better as of late, both Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have struggled to quarterback the top unit. Despite Hamilton’s troubles this year, he’s spent a lot of time doing just that throughout his career.

LeBrun also linked Hamilton to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. While no trade seems imminent at this time, it’s likely that he’ll be getting a change of scenery between now and the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.