Dougie Hamilton injury: Devils suffer big blow as GM Tom Fitzgerald provides concerning update on star D-man's knee injury

The New Jersey Devils will be without their star defenseman Dougie Hamilton for the rest of the season, GM Tom Fitzgerald said on Thursday. The player may or may not return for the playoffs, though that remains unlikely.

When asked specifically about a playoff return, Fitzgerald said via Field Level Media:

“We’re not planning on it, how’s that?”

Hamilton was in the midst of a quality season, scoring 40 points on nine goals and 31 assists in 63 games this season. Hamilton went down during the opening period of the loss against the Dallas Stars on Mar. 4.

Coach Sheldon Keefe said:

“The nature of his injury if everything goes perfectly (he could return in the regular season) but we’re not counting it, let’s put it that way. We’re pressing on as if we don’t have him."

The longer the Devils make it in the playoffs, the higher the chances are that Hamilton's knee injury heals, but a return at any point before the next regular season remains only the slightest possibility.

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Devils have tough road ahead without Dougie Hamilton

The Devils remain in third position in the Metropolitan Division. They trail the Carolina Hurricanes by six points and the red-hot Washington Capitals by 18. The division may not be within sight, but a top-three berth certainly is.

The Devils lost Dougie Hamilton for the season (Imagn)

They have a six-point lead on the Columbus Blue Jackets, so they're not in immediate danger of losing that spot and being relegated to the wild-card race, but it will be difficult without Dougie Hamilton.

He's not the only absence on defense, though, as Jonas Siegenthaler is also out for the rest of the season with an undisclosed injury. Their defense is now without two original starters for the rest of the year and the playoffs.

New Jersey did make some moves at the deadline to address these concerns, adding Cody Glass and Brian Dumoulin. They also signed Jonathan Kovacevic to a contract extension, but that doesn't help mitigate the loss.