One of the biggest draft day trades has been pulled off before the event even gets underway as the Calgary Flames have acquired defenseman Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins.
Going back to Boston in the deal is the 15th overall pick in this year’s draft as well as two second-round picks this year, the 45th and 52nd.
Hamilton, 22, is a pending restricted free agent that was due to receive a massive pay raise from the $832,500 he made during the 2014-15 season with the Bruins. With the salary cap situation Boston is in, new general manager Don Sweeney needed to make a move to alleviate some of the cost. Dealing Hamilton for three draft picks does just that.
[RELATED: NHL Draft Deal Tracker]
There was plenty of talk that Boston and Arizona were talking about a deal that would’ve seen the Bruins get the third overall selection in this year’s draft, but it clearly never got past preliminary discussions. Now, with three more picks to play with, one could assume that Sweeney and the Bruins may not be done wheeling and dealing as the team looks to get into a better salary cap situation.
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