When Bouwmeester was traded the Brodie really only had Giordano still above him on the depth chart. And that Mark Giordano wasn't nearly as good as he is now. 15 points in 47 games. When Russell was traded Hamilton still has Giordano and Brodie ahead of him, two legitimate top pairing defencemen. The need to play a young defender that much is lessened.
And also, Hamilton's been playing big minutes lately. Against the Sharks he played 24 minutes, two days later vs Nashville he was over 27 minutes.
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