Devils Defenseman Could Return This Season

After previously being ruled out for the season, one New Jersey Devils star could make an unexpected return.

New Jersey Devils defensemen Dougie Hamilton (7) dumps the puck in against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. / Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

In a season where they've been absolutely decimated by injuries, the New Jersey Devils finally received a tiny bit of good news on that front.

According to TSN insider Pierre LeBrun, star defenseman Dougie Hamilton, whom the Devils previously ruled out for the season due to injury, has a chance to return this season. It's a slim chance, but it's better than what the Devils thought previously.

"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 said. "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 40 points (nine goals, 31 assists) and a plus-nine rating in 63 games this season. He last played in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on March 4.

The Toronto native is in his 13th NHL season and fourth with the Devils, as he signed a seven-year, $63 million deal with New Jersey as a free agent in 2021. In 832 games with the Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins, Hamilton has 501 points (151 goals, 350 assists) and a plus-77 rating.

The Devils, who also lost their franchise center in Jack Hughes to a season-ending injury, sit at third place in the Metropolitan Division with 87 points. They are seven points behind the second-place Hurricanes and 10 points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who sit just outside the playoff picture. As a result, New Jersey is all but a lock to face Carolina in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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