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HAWTHORN list manager Graham Wright has denied the trading of club great Sam Mitchell was to free salary cap space to secure Gold Coast youngster Jaeger O'Meara.
Wright also said fellow veteran Jordan Lewis would stay in 2017 and the Hawks would not allow him to be traded to Melbourne, even if he asked the club to do so.
Asked whether he could guarantee Lewis would be at Hawthorn in 2017, Wright gave a qualified response.
"At this stage, absolutely," he said.
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Wright said the departure of Mitchell was a "sad day" for the Hawks.
Mitchell, a four-time premiership player and five-time best and fairest winner, joined the Eagles when the trade was made official on Friday, along with picks No.54 and 72 in exchange for picks No.52, 70 and 88.
"For a lot of us it's a sad day, for Hawthorn supporters and for us in here," Wright said.
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"But we've got an extremely happy player who is very keen to move on with his life and his future.
"This has been a discussion for about 18 months for Sam to potentially going there as a coach once his playing days were finished, but it's been pushed forward."
It was revealed on Thursday that Lewis, through his management, approached Melbourne about a trade after speaking with coach Alastair Clarkson about his future a few weeks ago.
After the shock Mitchell news broke, Lewis was assured on Thursday in a meeting with Clarkson that he was a required player and a move to the Demons was shelved as a result.
Wright denied the club had had similar conversations with any other veterans and didn't believe Lewis was upset or angry after his initial conversation with Clarkson.
"You'd have to ask Jordan that one. That was a conversation between him and Clarko, but I don't think it was anger," he said.
"It certainly wasn't anger when I was with him yesterday. From his point-of-view it was about exploring what else might be out there in the future. But he's a contracted and required player."
Meanwhile, Wright said the Hawks hadn't spoken to Gold Coast for "a day or two" about O'Meara, and expected there was "a fair bit of water to go under the bridge".
AFL.com.au reported on Thursday that Billy Hartung could help break the deadlock in the O'Meara talks, with the Brisbane Lions interested in the speedy wingman.
Involving a third club could help get the O'Meara deal done, but Wright said the Lions haven't spoken to Hawthorn about Hartung.
He added that the Hawks aren't looking at any other players and was confident the club would remain in flag contention next season.
"It will be interesting for us, won't it when we get to the end of this trade period and see where we are and what picks we have and what players we've been able to bring in?" Wright said.
"But we'd still be hoping to be a contender next year.
"I would've thought we're trying to get better. Now, losing a high-quality player like Sam who has just won our best and fairest, you would probably hesitate to say we've got better today.
"But we'll try to get better in the future."
