"We've both decided that it would be best for both sides to just wait until the end of the year," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said on the "DFO Rundown" podcast Monday. "Let's sit down and see if we can hammer out a deal, put it on the back burner so Dougie can worry about playing hockey at this point.
"We've talked to him. He wants to stay here. We want to keep Dougie. We love Dougie. He fits in well with our team, coaches like him."
Hamilton is in the final season of a six-year contract he signed with the Calgary Flames on June 30, 2015. The Flames traded Hamilton to the Hurricanes with forward
Micheal Ferland
and defenseman Adam Fox for defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm on June 23, 2018.
Hamilton leads Carolina defensemen with 25 points (three goals, 22 assists) in 31 games after a 3-0 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. He's scored 104 points (35 goals, 69 assists) in 160 games since the trade.
"I'd like to stay here, but I'm going to let my agent (J.P. Barry) and Waddell] talk," Hamilton
[said Jan. 5
. "I just want to focus on hockey and helping the team win."
Waddell also said talks were progressing with coach Rod Brind'Amour on a new contract. Brind'Amour is 104-61-15 in three seasons since replacing Bill Peters on May 8, 2018.
"I've had lots of great discussions, and we're getting close, it's just a matter of time," Waddell said. "I'm 99.9 percent that Rod will be our coach for this franchise in the upcoming years for sure."
The Hurricanes (21-7-3) are second in the Discover Central Division, three points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning.
