Report: Hamilton rejected huge offer from Bruins!

The Boston Bruins traded away rising star Dougie Hamilton on draft day to the Calgary Flames. Still, Bruins' general manager Don Sweeney claims he did everything he could to sign the young defenseman. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Sweeney offered the 22-year-old a $33M contract over sic years. Hamilton wanted 2 more million per year. The gap between the two parties was to big to overcome. Still, as Friedman suggests, maybe Sweeney needs to improve his skills as a negotiator.

I’m more curious about practical analysis, as in, what does this tell us about the new regime? One GM compared it to “Harry Sinden running the team again.” What he meant was Hamilton and Milan Lucic made contract asks the Bruins didn’t like, and rather than doing much negotiating, pulled the trigger. Sometimes, we get caught up in initial proposals. Any good negotiator will tell you to exaggerate your opening position.

  The Bruins had a major shake-up at the draft, trading Hamilton and long time Bruin Milan Lucic to the Kings. With Zdeno Chara approaching his 40's, Hamilton was seen as the future cornerstone of the franchise at the blue line. The 2011 number nine pick is fresh off back-to-back 40 points season and will be part of a core young group in Calgary. At what price the Alberta team sign him remains to be seen, but they have the money to secure him long-term. Image courtesy of Keystone Press Agency