To turn around their misfortune from last season, the New Jersey Devils will need strong play from their entire roster, including a returning Dougie Hamilton.
The New Jersey Devils defense simply wasn’t a strength last season. For a team historically known for its defense, the combinations and personnel sent out in general just didn’t get the job done on most nights. Some of it was due to players regressing from the prior season. Some of it was due to guys having to play above a level they were ready for. And some of it of course was due to injuries.
The word “injuries” of course brings us to Dougie Hamilton. The arguable crown jewel of the 2021 free agency class, Hamilton only appeared in 20 games for the Devils in 2023 24 before having to be shut down due to a torn pectoral muscle. While Hamilton was having some defensive struggles prior to said injury, the rest of the team wasn’t doing much better and at least Dougie still put up 16 points when he played. Having been out since November, Hamilton will be coming back to a Devils team looking to make a deep, meaningful run in 2024-25. They’ve also made some upgrades in hopes of doing so.
Even with a roster that looks improved on paper, the Devils are still going to need a big bounce back from Hamilton. Having more depth, more defensive strength, more grit and more experienced youngsters is all great, but is again, right now at least, all just on paper. When the games begin to be played, all of these facets have to be brought together; players need to live up to their reputations and skill sets. That includes Hamilton.
While Dougie is known more for his offense than his defense, he’s not a slouch in his own end either. His play in 2022-23 was a big contributing factor to how well the Devils did and while he may not hit 74 points again (we can all hope it happens though) , he does need to return to a high level of play in both ends. The Devils saw Simon Nemec emerge as an NHL regular at 19/20 years of age and Brett Pesce was added in free agency, but that doesn’t mean Dougie can turn into a pylon and get demoted to the third pair. If the Devils defense is to become a pillar of strength once again, all three right side players will need to play their best and challenge each other for minutes.
The concern has to be Hamilton being able to play up to his usual level after a major surgery. The speculation has already begun that he won’t have the same shot velocity anymore, or he won’t be willing to be physical in fear of reinjuring himself. While there might be an adjustment to be made, and some rust to get off between training camp, preseason and early games, I don’t think it’s time to write Dougie off as an effective NHLer. He’s still going to be able to skate as well as he did prior to his injury, and he can still get to the correct position to play the puck in either end. Additionally, Hamilton has a pretty damn good wrist shot (link below for anyone who’s forgotten) so even if his slapshot isn’t as strong, he doesn’t become obsolete.
Again, once the games start (even preseason ones) we’ll have a better idea of what Dougie Hamilton post-injury looks like. Even without any hockey to judge him upon, I don’t think Hamilton becomes useless due to the injury. He does, however need to come back strong and help lead the new Devils defense group forward. His return alone should help to ease some of the burden on the other defenders and should aid the team overall as they attempt to return to the playoffs this season.
What are your thoughts on the impending return of Dougie Hamilton; do you think he needs to return to pre-injury level play? Do you think he won’t need to be as impactful as he used to be due to a seemingly deeper roster? Are you worried his play is going to be permanently affected from the pectoral injury? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!