WWYDW: Apparently Dougie Hamilton is on the block

If there’s one thing this series against the Boston Bruins has indicated, it’s that the Toronto Maple Leafs need to upgrade their blueline. No, it doesn’t mean they need to trip over themselves to package all of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner in a deal for Adam Larsson, but they do need to find a top-four upgrade for their defensive core.

Here’s something interesting. Jermaine Franklin, a Calgary Flames reporter, was on the radio in Edmonton yesterday and suggested that the Flames might be looking to move Dougie Hamilton.

Calgary is coming off of an incredibly disappointing season in which they, like their friends in Edmonton, missed the playoffs despite having legitimate contention aspirations. They fired their entire coaching staff in response and there’s reason to believe they aren’t finished there.

The Flames made a big trade over the summer acquiring Travis Hamonic from the New York Islanders. As a result, they don’t have a single draft pick in this year’s first three rounds. Yikes. That isn’t an enviable situation to be in.

That brings us to this week’s What Would You Do Wednesday question. Should the Leafs be interested in Dougie Hamilton? What would you give up for him?

Hamilton is an excellent defender and he’s signed for three more seasons at a fairly modest $5,750,000. When the Flames originally acquired him from the Bruins, they did so at a shockingly low cost, only sending the Bruins a first-round pick and two second-round picks. That was three years ago now, so while Hamilton is older and more refined, he’s more expensive and he has fewer years of control attached to him.

Working out a deal with the Flames is an interesting conundrum. If they want to deal Hamilton, you’d think they’d want someone that could help them right now, like Nylander or Marner, but that isn’t going to happen. That said, they also obviously want to recoup some draft assets, or, at least a prospect that has similar value to a mid first-round pick they’re missing out on this year. That would bring me, logically, to the Leafs shipping 2017 first-round pick Timothy Liljegren to Calgary. It would give the Flames a blue chip prospect while effectively speeding up the clock for the Leafs. If all things go right, Liljegren becomes as good as Hamilton, right?

What do you think? Should the Leafs be after Hamilton? What would it cost and what would you be willing to give up?

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