Dougie Hamilton to Flames: Latest Trade Details, Comments and Reaction

With defenseman Dougie Hamilton set to become a restricted free agent, the Boston Bruins dealt him to the Calgary Flames on Friday in exchange for the No. 15, No. 45 and No. 52 selections in the 2015 NHL draft.

John Shannon of Sportsnet was among the first to report that the Bruins were sending the 22-year-old blueliner out west, and the Bruins' official Twitter account later confirmed the return.

Hamilton enjoyed a career season in 2014-15, as the 2011 first-round pick set personal bests with 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points. He emerged as one of Boston's top defensemen with Zdeno Chara reaching the latter stages of his career, but the Bruins decided against committing what will surely be significant money to the promising rearguard.

According to Shannon, every indication is that the Flames and Hamilton will able to agree to a long-term contract despite the Bruins' inability to come to terms.

While the move makes sense for Boston from a financial standpoint, it is taking a big risk by trading away a potential superstar. Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun pointed out that the deal could very well come back to bite the Bruins down the line:

The surprising trade comes just a day after Bruins general manager Don Sweeney insisted that he wanted Hamilton to remain in the fold for the foreseeable future, per Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com:

"

We're just trying to stay in real, real good communication and find a solution. Dougie is a really important part of our organization, and I've made no bones about the fact that I want him to be a part of that. We're going to explore every opportunity to do that.

You need two sides to make a deal, and we'll continue to explore that and communicate until we find the right deal. The situation is what it is, and we're just going to face it, communicate and find the right course to get it done.

"

The Bruins ultimately determined that a deal wasn't going to get done between the two sides, which led to them acquiring a bevy of draft picks.

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, they received less in return from Calgary than what they initially asked for:

At the same time, James Mirtle of the Globe & Mail points out that Boston got a better return than it would have had someone signed Hamilton to an offer sheet:

This marks the second time in two years that the Bruins have moved on from a young star as they dealt forward Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars in 2013. Early returns aren't positive for Boston as Seguin has posted consecutive 37-goal seasons in Dallas since the move.

While Boston could potentially get a few good players out of this trade moving forward, Matt Larkin of the Hockey News believes Calgary won the deal in a big way:

The Flames are coming off a surprising season that saw them reach the playoffs and advance to the second round. They have a talented young group of forwards, and they already had one of the best defense corps in the league.

Adding Hamilton to the likes of Mark Giordano, Dennis Wideman, T.J. Brodie and Kris Russell makes their two-way attack even more dangerous.

While this trade signals the continued ascent of the Flames, it could be a sign that the Bruins' days of contending are over for the time being.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.