from Joe Haggerty of CSNNE,
A two-year deal in the $4.5-5 million per season range would give the young D-man a nice bump to recognize the offensive breakthroughs Hamilton made while notching 10 goals and 42 points in 72 games last season. But it would also acknowledge what everybody knows about Hamilton: that the youngster still has some strides to make with work in the D-zone and decision-making with the puck.
The most obvious candidate to attempt luring Hamilton away with an offer sheet would be Peter Chiarelli and the Edmonton Oilers, but the Columbus Blue Jackets have also shown keen interest in the potential restricted free agent.
The real lack of young, potential future No. 1 defenseman and the fairly reasonable compensation of just a first round pick, a second pick and a third round pick for any contract under $7.3 million per season could turn those teams into proactive buyers. There’s also a number of new GM’s in new spots over the last couple of seasons, and that could change the surprising lack of activity in the RFA market over the years.
There are many around the league watching this Hamilton/Bruins situation play out with great interest.
“Every team is looking for that big, mobile, puck-moving defenseman that’s capable of getting 35-50 points, you know?” said one NHL front office member outside of Boston. “If I’m another team and I have a chance to get him, obviously with the CBA there are different things you can do to make that happen like offer sheets. I think he’s in a good spot for himself. As far as the [Bruins] organization goes, I wouldn’t want to be the guy that lost him.
“When you look at the [offer sheet] compensation, it’s not bad compensation for a guy [in Hamilton] who’s going to play 25 minutes a night and can move the puck like that.”
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