Is Seth Jones the better option over Dougie Hamilton?

DOUGIE HAMILTON: THE OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN

Dougie Hamilton would be a good addition to the Flyers if Shayne Gostisbehere is taken by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft.  He would ultimately be a second pairing guy on this team due to the fact that Provorov needs a defensive minded partner.

A big right handed defenseman with a heavy shot is always helpful for a team. Hamilton looked good this year coming off of that injury from the following year where he fractured his Fibula in his left leg. Hamilton looked like he was back to himself but that is still a gruesome injury to deal with.

Hamilton’s recent contract put him at 6 years for $34,500,000 for an AAV of $5.75M a year, which he got from Calgary during the 2015-2016 season. I believe he will be looking for a place to settle down at 28 years old. Maybe a 6 year contract with an AAV of 6.5-7.0M.

Over his nine year career, Hamilton played 607 games scoring 106 goals and notching 235 assists. He also comes out with a +/- of 72. This past season, Hamilton played 55 games scoring 10 goals and racking up 32 assists. He also had a +/- of 20, scored two power play goals and one short handed goal.

On the outside metrics, Hamilton blocked 64 shots, dished out 52 hits and 44 giveaways. In the advanced stat column, the goalies had a 91.3 SV%. He was also on the ice for 57% of the offensive draws. The team controlled the puck 58.7 % more then their opposition.

His offensive game is not in question, but his defensive game is. He was only on the ice 42.1% of the time for defensive face-offs. Clearly his game is offensive based and something the Flyers don’t currently need on their blue line.

SETH JONES: THE DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN

In my last article about Seth, I spoke a lot about how we could bring him here and what he is capable of. He has one year of control left on his contract and will need to be re-signed in the next off-season. Luckily for the Flyers, they would likely be able to.

Another big right handed defenseman, Jones is a big body at the blue line and down by the goalie who he is protecting. Also coming off of an injury, Seth Jones looked to be almost back to himself but was missing his partner Zack Werenski big time. If he comes to Philadelphia, he wouldn’t have that problem with iron man Ivan Provorov.

Jones has played in 580 games in his seven year career. He scored 65 goals and recorded 221 assists. He had almost the same stats from the 2019-2020 season except the Blue Jackets were in complete disarray.

In 19-20, Seth Jones played 56 games. In those 56 games, he scored six goals and recorded 24 assists. He ended that season with a +/- of 10, scored two goals on the power play and assisted on seven of those goals. He also had one shorthanded bid.

He was also on the ice for the starts of his shift in the defensive zone 46.1% of the time. The goalies save percentage was also a 91.6%. When he was on the ice, his team was 50% better than their opposition.

This season, Jones scored five goals and assisted on 23 goals in 56 games. He looked much like the Jones of the following year. Unfortunately, the Blue Jackets were under performing this season. He ended with a -18. However, he did score two power play goals and assisted on six of them. He averaged 25 minutes a game which will be helpful playing alongside Provorov

He had very similar stats in the advanced metrics as well. The goalies SV% was a 90% while he started his shift in the defensive zone 46.8% of the time. His team was also about the same percentage better with him out there on the ice from the previous season.

Overall, both players would make great additions to the Flyers blue line, but Jones would be the perfect partner for Ivan Provorov. He is also younger than Hamilton as well and wants a fresh start. I also believe that you could make that trade and potentially add Patrick Laine to the package coming to Philadelphia.

A lot is up in the air right now, but the Flyers need to add this off-season and go after big name players that bring skills that are needed for this team. I feel like if this team can get back to their 2019-2020 playing style, they can win a cup. They clearly need some help to bolster their ranks and this is the perfect time to do so.