Devils' Hamilton ahead of schedule, 'slim hope' of in-season return
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New Jersey Devils defenceman Dougie Hamilton is ahead of schedule in his his return from a lower-body injury and could potentially return before the end of the regular season, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports.
"Here's what I would say...the Devils had indicated a couple of weeks ago that Dougie Hamilton would not be back for the rest of the regular season, and probably not back until the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs - if they indeed made it that far," LeBrun explained on Insider Trading Tuesday. "But, he started skating last week and there's been a bit of positive there and if he continues to progress and doesn't have a setback.
"Now they are holding out slim hopes that he could be back before the end of the regular season. Let me stress slim from the Devils' perspective here, but it is certainly better than the original prognosis. He has a type of knee injury that usually has a four-to-six week recovery time period. It's four weeks today on Tuesday that he got hurt."
Hamilton, 31, has tallied nine goals and 31 assists across 63 games this season with the Devils, his fourth in New Jersey and 13th in the NHL.
A native of Toronto, Hamilton is in the sixth season of a seven-year, $63 million contract, featuring an average annual value of $9 million.
Over 834 career games with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and Devils, Hamilton has scored 151 goals and 350 assists. He has nine goals and 20 assists in 66 playoff games.
The Devils currently hold the final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division, seven points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for second and 10 points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are currently outside the playoff picture.
Getting Hamilton back would be a significant boost for a Devils team that lost star forward Jack Hughes for the season due shoulder surgery in February.