Don Sweeney: Dougie Hamilton ‘A Foundational Player’ For Boston Bruins

Dougie Hamilton’s next contract is the dominant Boston Bruins storyline leading up to the July 1 start of free agency.

The 21-year-old defenseman would become a restricted free agent if he’s unsigned by that date, which would allow him to sign an offer sheet with another team. In that scenario, Boston would have the right to match the offer sheet and keep Hamilton, or lose him and receive draft pick compensation based on the salary in the offer sheet.

The Bruins think highly of Hamilton, and general manager Don Sweeney gave an update on the situation after Tuesday’s GM meetings in Las Vegas.

“He’s an RFA that we’ve been having talks and discussions with,” Sweeney told reporters, via the Bruins’ website. “I’ll continue to have those for as long as it takes to have Dougie as part of our group. He’s a foundational player, as I’ve described before. We’re very happy that he’s a member of the Boston Bruins, and I’m going to explore to get it done.”

Hamilton led all Bruins defensemen in scoring from a top-pairing role alongside captain Zdeno Chara this past season. The injury that forced Hamilton to miss the final 10 games of the regular season made the Bruins’ pursuit of a playoff spot much more difficult.