Devils’ Dougie Hamilton scratched; agent says player willing to be flexible on trade front
New Jersey Devils’ defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be a healthy scratch for the team’s Sunday matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, Hamilton’s agent J.P. Barry told TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun on Saturday.
Reached out to Dougie Hamilton’s agent J.P. Barry. His response:
“Dougie was informed today that he will be not be playing now that Kovacevic is back in the lineup. In our view,
this decision is all about business rather than his game right now. Singling him out seems very…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 10, 2026
“Dougie was informed today that he will be not be playing now that Kovacevic is back in the lineup,” Barry told LeBrun in a statement. “In our view, this decision is all about business rather than his game right now. Singling him out seems very calculated at this stage.”
Barry also told LeBrun that Hamilton is willing to be flexible when it comes to accepting a trade with a team that’s not already approved in his modified no-trade clause.
“Dougie has a 10-team trade list and there have been efforts to trade him going back to the draft last year,” Barry continued. “We have made it clear to the Devils that we will consider teams outside our list and other creative ways to get to a team that is mutually acceptable.”
LeBrun also reached out to Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, who went through the team’s other defenders and why they have a spot in the New Jersey lineup.
“This is simply Dougie being the odd-man out with where our right-side is- fully healthy for the first time all year,” Fitzgerald said. “This is business. Business of our lineup!”
Reached to Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald in wake of J.P. Barry’s comments.
Fitzgerald:
“As you know, we just put Nemec back in the lineup on Thursday. He’s a young guy who we want getting his game back, where he had been easily our best defensemen before his injury.
Pesce’s play…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 10, 2026
Hamilton has five goals and five assists for 10 points, averaging 21:41 of ice time in 40 games this season. Now in his fifth season with the Devils, Hamilton, who signed a seven-year, $63-million contract with New Jersey in July 2021, has 50 goals and 120 assists for 170 points, averaging 21:07 of ice time in 268 regular-season games.
In 14 NHL seasons, Hamilton has 156 goals and 355 assists for 511 points in 875 regular-season games with the Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins.
The Toronto native has posted eight 40-point seasons, six 30-assist campaigns and reached career highs in all offensive categories in 2022-23 when he scored 22 goals and recorded 52 assists for 74 points.