A Blockbuster Trade That Almost Happened In 2015
The year was 2015 and the Phoenix Coyotes, now relocated to Arizona had scored the No. 3 overall draft pick.
Which was great for the Coyotes as it gave them some leverage to work with, trading wise and to help the future of the franchise.
Don Maloney who was the Coyotes GM at the time, held the 3rd overall pick out as bait but never allowed anyone to bite, which was surprising due the high demand. But Don Maloney wanted nothing to do with it.
Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts Podcast said there was a trade proposal that was sent in from the Boston Bruins for the 3rd overall pick. Involving defensemen Dougie Hamilton who had played three years prior with the Bruins, accumulating over 70 points in that time period.
Yet Don Maloney chose to keep the 3rd overall draft pick, because in their division the Yotes had to go up against guys like Thornton, Getzlaf and Kopitar, so who did they decide to select?
Dylan Strome. Who in his draft year in the OHL he led the league in scoring after he registered six points in his final game of the regular season to finish with 129.
In hindsight this makes sense, why would you trade away this star player for a 6'6 tall d-man. But Strome only played a total of 48 games with the Coyotes and scored 16 points, as for the Bruins they had a lot of room to work with.
Having 3 consecutive first round draft picks in the first round is extremely rare and the Coyotes could have easily utilized not one but at least two of those draft picks in a trade. Instead they drafted Dylan Strome over players like Mitch Marner, Timo Mier, and others.
The Coyotes could have used a defensemen like Dougie Hamilton, who was already a top 5 two-way defensemen in the first three years of his career.
With that in mind, let's takes a look at where the two players are now and see what has changed since 2015:
Born: March 7, 1997
Birthplace: Mississauga, ON, CAN
Shoots: Left
Draft: 2015 ARI, 1st rd, 3rd pk (3rd overall)
After a tough 3 seasons with the Coyotes organization, the Chicago Blackhawks acquired Strome from Phoenix on Nov. 25, 2018. In a deal where the Coyotes actually gave up two players in order to receive one. Which sounds insane as Strome was still a No. 3 draft pick.
Trading Strome and Brendan Perlini for Nick Schmaltz. In Chicago he finally got a chance to prove himself, scoring a career high 51 points in 58 games. Despite having a solid 4 1/2 years with the Hawks, he signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Washington Capitals on July 14, 2022, after becoming an unrestricted free agent when he wasn't given a qualifying offer by the Blackhawks despite the solid seasons.
The Washington Captials are where Strome is currently playing, after having a career high breaking his past 51 point year with 65 in 81 games played.
Born: June 17, 1993
Birthplace: Toronto, ON, CAN
Shoots: Right
Draft: 2011 BOS, 1st rd, 9th pk (9th overall)
Dougie Hamilton has put together quite the career, despite playing four different teams. This season with the New Jersey Devils, he scored 22 goals to tie Barry Beck's single-season record (1977-78) for most by a defenseman in a season in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history.
He signed a seven-year, $63 million contract ($9 million average annual value) with the Devils on July 28, 2021, after three productive seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes as well in 2020-21, when he finished fourth in voting for the Norris Trophy given to the best defenseman in the NHL.
Hamilton scored 58 points (12 goals, 46 assists) in 67 games for his hometown Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League during the 2010-11 season and was selected by the Boston Bruins with the No. 9 pick of the 2011 NHL Draft.
He could never really fit in with the Bruins but is excelling elsewhere.
| POLL | ||
Do you miss Dougie Hamilton? | ||
| Yes | 21 | 23.6 % |
| No | 68 | 76.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
