Cardiac Cane
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How Would the Carolina Hurricanes Use a Franchise Tag

By William Farrow

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 14: Dougie Hamilton #19 celebrates the game winning goal with Martin Necas #88 and Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes during an NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on November 14, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Carolina won 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 14: Dougie Hamilton #19 celebrates the game winning goal with Martin Necas #88 and Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes during an NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on November 14, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Carolina won 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 24: Dougie Hamilton #19 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates after scoring a goal during game action between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 24, 2019, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 24: Dougie Hamilton #19 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates after scoring a goal during game action between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 24, 2019, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Dougie Hamilton

Our first candidate is none other than the Canes current leading point scorer, Dougie Hamilton.

Hamilton has sure caught the eye of Canes fans and the NHL alike with all these points he’s getting. Averaging OVER 1 point a game right now, Hamilton is THE MAN (and pig) for the Canes currently. Having 21 points in only 19 games is quite amazing, in fact that also means Hamilton is over half way to his point total from last year in only 19 games.

Sounds great right? This definitely give Hamilton an edge in skill, potential, and production. Having come out of his shell, Hamilton is a go to guy for the Canes when they are in a rut, and need defensive stops as well as offensive production.

Hamilton has also become quite the fan favorite recently. From antics of riding scooters around Raleigh to cup checking Canes staff before games, nobody has more fun than this guy. Fans love him, Svechnikov loves him, what else do you need.

While Hamilton does not wear a letter on the front there is no doubt the man is leader on and off the ice. So it would appear that Hamilton is the perfect candidate for the franchise tag right? Well let’s look at his current contract situation.

Hamilton is currently 26 years old and is with the Canes for the next two seasons. Will the Canes fork up some cold hard cash to keep the lovable blue liner, of course. But in two seasons is it truly worth it to put a lifetime tag on someone who is already 28? Probably not.

So Dougie has it all, but might is a little to old to make this seem logistical, so let’s look at some of the young guns.

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