Calgary Flames sign Dougie Hamilton to six-year, $34.5 million contract

Dougie Hamilton, the uppity loner restricted free agent defenseman who clearly didn’t fit with the Boston Bruins for reasons that obviously had nothing to do with the Bruins, was signed by the Calgary Flames Tuesday to a reported six-year contract for $34.5 million.

I guess the Flames ignored the predictable Boston character assassinations of Hamilton after he was traded by Bruins and signed him anyway. This is probably good for Calgary, who now has a 6-foot-5, 22-year-old asset on its blueline for the next several seasons.

Said Calgary GM Brad Treliving on Hamilton via the Calgary Sun:

“I’m not going to comment on any anonymous people out there, but we’ve done our homework — thorough homework — both on the player and the person, and we are over-the-moon excited about the player and the person that we’re getting,” Treliving said. “We think he’s going to fit like a glove — on and off the ice — with us.

“This type of player doesn’t come around very often at this age. You’re talking about a very intelligent kid. He’s a 98% student. He won the scholastic award (in the Ontario Hockey League in 2011). I like that he’s a very cerebral kid. Smart. Intelligent.

“This doesn’t keep me awake at night. Since the day we got Dougie Hamilton, I’ve had the best sleeps of the past few years. I’ve slept like a baby.”

Last year Hamilton had 42 points and played 21:20, and he’s probably only going to improve. It’s smart of Treliving to boost his D, just in time for some Canadian wunderkind’s arrival in a provincial rival north of Calgary.

There were questions on Hamilton and whether a team would try to sign him to an offer sheet, which may have played into Boston's thinking when it dealt Hamilton to the Flames on the day of the 2015 NHL Draft for a first round pick and two second rounders. If Hamilton had been signed to a deal that paid him between 5 milliion and $6.7 million annually Boston would have received a first, a second and a third round pick as compensation. 

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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