Dougie Hamilton - Was there more to this trade than meets the eye?

[GullFoss]

From the body of anecdotal evidence and interviews, I like to speculate his attitude was very much like “look I’m making 6m a year and my stats reflect that. I’m pulling my weight. If the team can’t win, it’s not on me”. And that would allow him to shrug off losses.

Some guys are probably just happy collecting the pay cheque and living the good life. Winning a championship might be quite unnecessary to them.

[flamesforcup]

Wow im dissapointed that some people here are trying to do the smear campaign that Boston did as well. He was a great dman but by trading him we filled a huge need and got another defensemen back. Why cant it be as simple as that? He seems like a very nice person dont speculate about his character if u were not in the locker room.
Good luck Hamilton

[RichKlit]

Oh stop it, this finger wagging is ridiculous as fans we can talk and speculate all we want. Absolutely nothing has crossed any lines.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

We can all focus on something a lot more concrete than the smoke IMO.

Dougie has the skills and physical tools to be one of the best two-way defenders in the league. But it’s clear from watching his play in his own zone that he just doesn’t have the drive to be the best player he could be. You see Gio busting his ass to cover defenders, diving in front of shots, using his average size to physically punish players. You’d rarely see Hamilton do any of that. Hamilton was often lazy and soft in his own zone. That was his choice. He has the potential to be great in his own zone but he doesn’t seem to hate losing enough to actually bust his ass in his own zone.

All the other smoke about his off ice character is whatever to me. Bottom line is that Hamilton’s on ice play in his own zone speaks volumes about his lack of desire to be the best, his being okay with losing.

I think this is by far the biggest issue. You want your core guys to be drivers, warriors. You want guys who have a burning desire to be the best and guys who can’t stand to lose. It’s clear Hamilton was lacking in this area.

[Dr. Doom]

I don't know why folks who don't like talking about the subject even come into the thread to complain.

Athletes get paid millions to bring the full package on and off the ice as professional athletes and role models. If there's character issues affecting the team and apparently people he interacts with, why can't we talk about it?

Don't click the thread if it bothers you.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Redrum

[MOD EDIT]

You can dislike the trade all you want, as that's your prerogative,

But your choice of words to describe your views is quite offensive.

And your sheer ignorance about assessing the trade value that players hold is quite embarrassing.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Not only offensive, but also simply wrong. Both parties consented.

[SebC]

If Hamilton was half of the best defense pairing in the league, and leading all defensemen in goal scoring without even being emotionally invested, then his ceiling must be astronomical - and the trade looks worse.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

This speculation about Dougie being angry about his brother being put on waivers really bothers me. IF that's true, it's incredibly immature and comes across as ridiculously entitled. Nobody deserves to be on an NHL team just because their brother is on it. The Flames went out of their way to put Freddie on their team and give him a chance to be an NHL player. The guy just never was really good enough. For the good of the team, you have to understand that this stuff isn't personal, and be grateful that the Flames were willing to even try to include Freddie.

Is this a millennial entitlement issue (throwing a tantrum because your brother was let go) or is this about players having more power than ever before due to the current CBA? It seems like franchises are doing more than ever to try and keep players happy, now to the point where it hurts the team's ability to go on about their business. Had Hamilton not been upset with his brother's situation and been a mature adult about it, would he still be a Flame?




That being said, I've had issues with Dougie for his on-ice compete level for the last year and a half, so even if the off-ice stuff is all rumors, I'm happy he's gone for this on-ice reasons.

[djsFlames]

Think he's a great player that had untapped potential the entire time here that the Flames didn't fully take advantage of. But he wasn't one of those pissed to lose kind of guys ala chucky. And he didn't need to be but that and some edge would really turn him into a guy you win with on your first pairing. Just so gentle for a guy with his frame. I don't give a rat's ass about what he's into. If it's not bars then I find that better than whatever the norm is supposed to be. But sounds like pride for the team and city was lacking, and own interests and getting to play with his brother which seemed like a favor to him more than anything earned to begin with (that the team never shouldve needed to do) and leaving without meeting with the team or media on the way out isn't being a team player and raises a red flag undoubtedly.

[the_only_turek_fan]

June 22 - Hamilton is awesome.
June 23 - Hamilton is a bum, he has mental issues, doesn't hate to lose, etc...

I need a CP break.

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by SebC

If Hamilton was half of the best defense pairing in the league, and leading all defensemen in goal scoring without even being emotionally invested, then his ceiling must be astronomical - and the trade looks worse.

Agree- the lack of emotional investment schtick is pretty hard to believe at this level of play. Obviously there are differences in intensity among teammates and some players have the ability to find another level in the playoffs, but you’re not going to see that in every player on successful teams. So if Hamilton can’t get to a Brad Marchand level of intensity and truculence, that isn’t a big surprise, and shouldn’t be the major factor in the decision to trade him.
Why can’t we just assume that Treliving made the judgement that despite the goal scoring skill, the overall contribution wasn’t indispensable. And (probably with input from Peters), he felt that Hanifin’s defense would make up for the deficit in goal scoring. We don’t need to make it any more complicated, with speculation about psycho-social interactions.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

June 22 - Hamilton is awesome.
June 23 - Hamilton is a bum, he has mental issues, doesn't hate to lose, etc...

I need a CP break.

Your timeline is so very wrong

April 8 - Hamilton doesn't hate to lose
https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...compete&page=5

Originally Posted by kyuss275

How about we talk about what other players that might be on the list . Kerr was pretty adamant during a road trip weeks ago that he saw stuff that needed to be dealt with in off season.

I think top of list is Hamilton and Ferland.

How about my first post on this board in about half a year?

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Do we need more heart? More guys who hate to lose? Perhaps. Out of all the names I've seen mentioned in this thread as fitting Francis's description the one that sticks out most to me is Hamilton.

Hamilton has the skill and physical tools to be a Pronger like defenseman. What he lacks is the drive to play physical, to make the opposition pay a big price to come into our defensive zone. He also doesn't seem to be as engaged defensively as he does offensively. Does this mean he lacks heart or doesn't hate losing enough? In a way I think it does. Is it a problem? By itself no. But perhaps there are too many players like this on the Flames.

June 23 - Hamilton doesn't hate to lose

There were some of us that have been claiming Hamilton's compete was an issue long before the trade was consummated. Don't claim revisionist history when the proof is right here for you.

[Strange Brew]

So do the new guys hate to lose?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

So do the new guys hate to lose?

Based on Lindholm's original scouting reports it seems like competitiveness is one his greatest assets.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

June 22 - Hamilton is awesome.
June 23 - Hamilton is a bum, he has mental issues, doesn't hate to lose, etc...

I need a CP break.

I would agree its a bit funny to see some posters turn on Hamilton once he is traded ... but lets not pretend everyone on CP was a fan of Hamilton. Some of us took a lot of abuse complaining about his play on the ice for a couple seasons (nevermind the off ice stuff).

[H2SO4(aq)]

This may be revisionist history but I cannot recall Hamilton ever cross checking someone in front of the net in the lower back. And that’s literally something that goes uncalled in beer league because it’s just how you move people from that area. He was soft. Please remind me the last time he was in a scrum of any sort.

[FireGilbert]

I heard comments that Hamilton was more of an intellectual who didn't fit in and would rather go to a museum than out with teammates. Obviously this means Hamilton requested a trade because he was bored of the Glenbow and wanted to experience the culture and museums of another city.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Your timeline is so very wrong

April 8 - Hamilton doesn't hate to lose
https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...compete&page=5



How about my first post on this board in about half a year?



June 23 - Hamilton doesn't hate to lose

There were some of us that have been claiming Hamilton's compete was an issue long before the trade was consummated. Don't claim revisionist history when the proof is right here for you.

It’s not even that it’s wrong, it’s that it’s totally and completely made up. Unless of course OP wants to post some evidence of people turning their back on Hamilton as soon as he got traded. People on a message board have differing opinions and trying to lump them all into a single group of hypocrites doesn’t work, imagine that.

[cannon7]

Brent Burns is a weird dude, too. Would love him as a Flame. Wish Hamilton well, he is a great player and was giving everything he had down the stretch, including a goal scoring /points streak. If that's not what we want in our "winning culture" then I really question the rest of the core / management.