Carolina Hurricanes: Dougie Hamilton Right at Home in Raleigh

Dougie Hamilton, despite playing for 3 different NHL teams before his 26th birthday, is right at home with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Dougie Hamilton was selected 9th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. On December 8, 2011, Hamilton signed his 3-year entry level contract with the Bruins, but would not see any NHL level ice-time until the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season when the Bruins called him up for 42 games. Hamilton registered 5 goals and 11 assists for a combined 16 points in that time span.

Hamilton’s tenure with Boston would be over at the end of his entry-level contract, as the Bruins dealt him to the Calgary Flames during the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Boston was facing salary cap constraints, and Dougie was just about to become a restricted free agent on July 1st of that year. The Bruins received first round draft pick Zachary Senyshyn, and two second round draft picks Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Jeremy Lauzon.

Just four days later, Hamilton signed his first multi-year deal with the Calgary Flames: a six-year, $34.5 million contract worth $5.75 million per year. During the 2016-2017 season, Dougie Hamilton found great success on the top defensive pairing with Mark Giordano. Both blueliners were gifted offensively, but playing together seemed to increase their defensive awareness and proclivity for disrupting opposing offensive opportunities.

Hamilton paired with Giordano helped the Flames make the playoffs for the second time in three years, but the Flames would be eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks. Hamilton would play in his 400th NHL game with the Flames, netting his first career hat-trick that same night.

Hamilton’s tenure with the Calgary Flames would again be surprisingly short, as he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a blockbuster trade that sent Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin to Calgary in return for Hamilton and Micheal Ferland. Hamilton has been a huge part of the Hurricanes’ recent success, so why has he been moved around so much?

Despite Hamilton’s seemingly stellar offensive and defensive play, rumors about a potential morale problem have plagued his career from the onset. In a rumor that has since been proven false by Dougie himself, the media touted Hamilton as an outlier as they claimed that he snubbed his Calgary teammate’s invite to a team lunch, and instead went to a museum.

Rumors such as these tend to make their rounds about nearly every journeyman player in the league, but none have persisted as much as the ones surrounding Dougie Hamilton. From what I (and the rest of the league) have seen this year, Dougie seems to be gelling just fine in the Hurricanes lineup.

He celebrates with full vigor, he can be seen laughing and hanging out with his teammates in various off-ice situations, and his play has been reflective of a player who is happy with his teammates, management, coaching, and status on the team.

https://twitter.com/NHLCanes/status/1112092854380384257

Dougie may be a bit of an introvert compared to players like Jordan Martinook, but I believe he has truly found a home in Raleigh. The Hurricanes seem to be a sort of band of misfits this year, as most of our lineup has come from various parts of the league. Teuvo Teravainen from Chicago, Jordan Martinook from Arizona, Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland from Calgary, and even Petr Mrazek from Detroit/Philadelphia (who has also had similar rumors floating around for a few seasons now).

The Hurricanes have taken their Don Cherry-given moniker of a ‘Bunch of Jerks’, and have completely run with it, using it as a rallying cry, and even a cry of unity when overcoming adversity. Other teams may have seen Dougie as a jerk, or even as a misfit, but that is exactly what makes him right at home with the Carolina Hurricanes. If Dougie Hamilton is indeed a Jerk, there is absolutely no better place for him than Raleigh, NC.

Question for CC Readers: What do you think of the rumors that seem to follow Dougie Hamilton around?