Let's yap about a highly unlikely Star: Dougie Hamilton
It won't happen. But if it did, the balance of Central powers would shift.
The last time the Dallas Stars rolled into a postseason with a genuine top four was in 2024 when they brought Thomas Harley, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Chris Tanev. For two rounds, the Stars looked like they might have the most formidable top four in the league. They helped shutdown Jack Eichel, Nathan MacKinnon, and did okay versus Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It wasn’t enough in the end, but the blue line did their part. Special teams; less so. What Stars fan wouldn’t want something like that, once more?
Enter Dougie Hamilton. In case you don’t pay attention to the East, the New Jersey Devils are toast. For a lot of very different reasons. Hamilton is officially on the big trade board. Like a lot of Devils, it’s been a tough season for the 6’6 defender. He’s been injured, as well as a healthy scratch. And he costs $9 million a year until the 2028-2029 season. If this at all worked, it would require retention on New Jersey’s part, plus at least one contract going back (like Ilya Lyubushkin and Mavrik Bourque?) which could further up the cost on acquiring Hamilton.
I don’t want to get lost in the weeds on this though. Remember when we thought there was no way a $12 million a year player could fit into Dallas’ long term plans but they did it anyway? Jason Robertson is an RFA. The Stars aren’t really backed into a corner. They could just ay F’ it, put Tyler Seguin on full LTIR (meaning we won’t see him in the playoffs) to add the necessary cap to make it happen, get easily the best defender on the market, and figure things out afterword with the only goal of winning the Cup this year. Three WC Finals appearances would argue they’re almost there.
That would be a major gamble. Just thinking about the ripple effect fries my brain like an egg. So today is about Magical Christmas Land. Would Hamilton be enough? Could he be exactly what the Stars need most; or more specifically, the needle mover to win Dallas their second franchise Cup?
