In an unconventional manner, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald gave a major injury update late Monday. While speaking with Rob Simpson on the Krackin’ Canuckleheads podcast, Fitzgerald gave a timeline for currently injured defenseman Dougie Hamilton of, “it’ll go into the second round.” He added that he does have to, “go back and do the math.” But ended with, “we aren’t planning on it,” all but confirming that Hamilton’s regular season is over and an absence deeper into a potential playoff run is likely.
Hamilton suffered the injury late in the first period against the Dallas Stars on March 4 after he collided with forward Mason Marchment. Hamilton limped to the bench where he remained through the end of the first period, but did not return in period two.
Hamilton ends his season with 40 points in 63 games. He’ll be a massive loss, as the 31-year-old is still one of the best offensive defensemen in the league. According to Evolving Hockey, his on-ice offensive impacts rank in the league’s 97th percentile.
Since signing with the Devils prior to the 2021-22 season, Hamilton has played more than 63 games once. He was limited to only 20 last season, and played 62 and 63, respectively, in his two other seasons. The lone season he played 82 was arguably the franchise’s best regular season in team history, as he posted 22 goals and 74 points.
Hamilton is added to a high-profile trio of Devils players expected to miss the regular season and beyond. Jonas Siegenthaler suffered a lower-body injury on February 4 against Pittsburgh. The team officially announced his regular season is over, but hinted at a potential return in the playoffs. In Fitzgerald’s interview Wednesday, he briefly mentioned that it appears unlikely Siegenthaler will play again at all this season.
Siegenthaler was enduring a bounce-back year where he and Johnathan Kovacevic formed arguably the best defensive pairing in the league. Siegenthaler ends his season with 55 games played and an on-ice defensive impact according to Evolving Hockey in the league’s 99th percentile. He was one of the more valuable defensemen in the entire league.
Lastly, as has been largely documented, the team is also without their superstar Jack Hughes for the remainder of the season. Hughes underwent shoulder surgery, as the team announced, after a scary hit suffered late in the Devils’ 2-0 loss in Vegas on March 2. Hughes was on pace for 93 points and was one of the most valuable players in the league at the time of his injury.
Hughes, Hamilton, and Siegenthaler make up of three of the Devils’ top-six most valuable players this season according to Evolving Hockey’s goals above replacement (GAR) metric. Sitting seven points clear of the first team outside of a wild card spot, the Devils will have to hang on 16 more games to make the playoffs.
They’ll hope that the additions of Brian Dumoulin, Cody Glass, Daniel Sprong, and Dennis Cholowski will be enough to hold the fort. Regardless, the Devils were dealt an extremely tough hand laying an extremely tall task in front of them.