Dougie Hamilton's agent appears to interfere in trade to Maple Leafs

Earlier this week, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton blocked a trade to the San Jose Sharks this past offseason.

Friedman then followed up that report with news that both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently engaged in negotiations to acquire Hamilton, but just yesterday Friedman updated his report yet again to say... well... that's he's not so sure now.

In fact, the way that Friedman worded things, you have to wonder if he's just acting as a mouthpiece for Hamilton's agent J.P. Barry.

From Friedman:

"I was asking around... teams that would be interested; you probably subtract some of the teams he's played for; would he be willing to go to Canada, I'm not sure...he's been there done that."

So... Friedman just happens to have insider info on the fit between Hamilton and the only two teams that are interested in him?

Something's fishy here...

This wouldn't be the first time that the media has been accused of carrying water for a J.P. Barry client before, that's all I say.

Read below for our earlier report on the situation between Hamilton and the Sharks, published earlier this week by Hockey Feed staff writer Chris Gosselin.

There is currently some serious drama going on between New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton and his team, the New Jersey Devils, so much so in fact that over the weekend we have seen a public spat between Hamilton's agent J.P. Barry and Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

Although the exact circumstances of the animosity between the two sides is currently unclear, a National Hockey League insider has just made some comments that may provide some insight into the current situation in New Jersey.

On Saturday night, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that Hamilton had blocked the Devils' attempt to trade him earlier in the season, with Friedman stating it as fact.

"Hamilton did move to a partial no trade clause this season, he can be traded to only one of ten teams," said Friedman on Hockey Night in Canada. "The other 21 he can block and, one thing we are aware of, in the summer San Jose did trade to trade for him and Hamilton blocked that move."

That may be a decision that Hamilton has since come to regret given the positions of both teams involved in that trade in the current NHL standings. The Sharks are sitting pretty in third in the NHL's Pacific Division and have a record of 23-18-3 on the season while the Devils on the other hand have struggled and are third from the bottom of the NHL's Metropolitan Division with a record of 22-20-2.

Although Hamilton currently remains a Devil he was made a healthy scratch on Saturday night and it seems a forgone conclusion that these two sides are headed for an ugly divorce.

"There's no question right now that the feelings are very hard on both sides," said Friedman.