Dougie Hamilton News

With first place in the Central Division locked up, the Hurricanes will rest a few players in their season finale. With Hamilton resting, Joey Keane will make his NHL debut.

As expected, it looks like Hamilton will make his long-awaited return in Game 1 vs. his former team. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour did not announce who would come out of the lineup for Hamilton but it's expected to be Haydn Fleury. Hamilton will likely skate with Jaccob Slavin and quarterback the top power-play unit, bumping Sami Vatanen to PP2.

Hamilton was on the ice again for Monday's practice and head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he is "hopeful" that Hamilton will be ready for Game 1 on Tuesday. It would be his first game since January 16th. He had 40 points (14G / 26A) in 47 regular-season games before breaking his leg vs. Columbus.

Hamilton, who missed the Hurricanes' three-game sweep of the Rangers, practiced for the first time since July 22nd. Carolina likely won't play for a week, so Hamilton will have plenty of time to get back up to speed before Round 1. In practice Hamilton skated alongside Jaccob Slavin on the Hurricanes' top defensive pair. He was also the lone defenseman on the team's first power-play unit.

Hamilton was set to return from a broken leg before he suffered a new injury in Training Camp 2.0. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour ruled him out for Game 1 vs. the Rangers on Saturday but said he's getting better and would not rule out a potential return during the five-game series.

Hamilton reportedly suffered a new injury, unrelated to the broken leg which forced him to miss the final two and half months of the regular season. Sara Civ of The Athletic reported that Hamilton's absence is "in the realm of weeks not months." This is untimely news as the Hurricanes enter the hub city bubble and get set to face the Rangers on Saturday. Carolina was 11-7-3 (11th in the NHL) after Hamilton was hurt in mid-January.

The Hurricanes were busy on trade deadline day to they had to make some room and they did so by moving Dougie Hamilton to LTIR. To help make up for the loss of Hamilton and most recently Brett Pesce, the Hurricanes used the cap space to acquired Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen.

Hamilton was injured late in the second period on Thursday. Hamilton and Kevin Stenlund were chasing after the puck when they had their legs tangle, Hamilton falling backward and bending his left leg under him. Hamilton will undergo further evaluation before they decide on potential surgery. Jordan Staal suffered a similar injury in a preseason exhibition game in September 2014 against the Buffalo Sabres. Staal underwent surgery to repair a broken fibula and had an estimated recovery time of three to four months.

Hamilton suffered an ugly-looking leg injury during Thursday's loss in Columbus. He was tangled up with Kevin Stenlund and went down very awkwardly. Hamilton had to be helped off of the ice and when head coach Rod Brind'Amour addressed the media post-game, he said that "it doesn't look good, obviously." It looks like the Hurricanes could be without their All-Star defenseman long-term but expect an update in the next 24 hours.

Hamilton is ranked as the No.13 right-handed defenseman according to Corsica Player Ratings. During his three-years in Calgary, Hamilton ranked sixth in the NHL among defensemen in goals (62) and 17th in points (137). Over the last two seasons, Hamilton has a 56.3 CorsiFor% and brings that to a team that ranked first in Corsi last season.

Hamilton was injured on Thursday, but was on the ice for the Flames' morning skate and is listed as a game-time decision for tonight's game. Monitor his status when Calgary hits the ice for warmups at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Hamilton and Michael Stone are battling injuries on the Flames’ blueline and had coach Glen Gulutzan said he hopes one of them “will play tomorrow” and the other “will play soon.” There is no word which one is closer, but expect an update after the team’s morning skate on Saturday.

There is no word on what is ailing the young defenseman but assistant coach Martin Gelinas said that Hamilton should be back “sooner rather than later” during a postgame interview. The Flames are red-hot and losing Hamilton for any period of time would be a big blow to their blueline.

Hamilton missed Thursday’s game with an illness and is considered questionable for Saturday’s game vs. the Coyotes. Hamilton was a late scratch yesterday, but you should get a good idea if he is playing during Saturday’s morning skate.

Hamilton is a pending restricted free-agent, but the Flames should have no problem getting him under contract. Since being draft 9th overall in 2011, Hamilton has scored 22 goals with 61 assists (83 points) in 178 career NHL games. He enjoyed a breakout season in 2014-15, registering 42 points (10G / 32A) in 72 contests. He joins Mark Giordano, T.J Brodie and Kris Russell to form a very strong top-4 on the Flames back-end.

The Bruins will wrap up their season on a three-game road trip, which Hamilton will not travel on. He has missed the last seven games and it looks like he will miss the rest of the regular season. At this point there is no word whether or not Hamilton will be ready for the playoffs.

Hamilton will miss his sixth straight game tonight, but he is expected to start skating again next week and could be back in the lineup before the end of the season.

Hamilton missed Monday’s game after suffering what is believed to be a shoulder injury on Sunday. Out indefinitely means that Hamilton could be out for the rest of the regular season—this is a huge blow to the Bruins playoff push. Expect Adam McQuaid to skate with Zdeno Chara on Thursday.