The Detroit Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman wanted more scoring. A player who is a legitimate scoring threat that could lead the NHL in goal scoring. They wanted a player who is a first-line player who can give Detroit an offensive weapon it has not had in years.
They wanted Alex DeBrincat and have had their eyes on him for a while.
On Sunday evening, their patience paid off. They finally acquired their target DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators and immediately signed him to a contract extension.
The Detroit Red Wings got DeBrincat for Sebrango, Kubalik, and picks.
For weeks, the Red Wings and Yzerman made it known to the NHL they wanted a player of his offensive abilities. However, the price was high at the time, and Yzerman needed to work his magic, not only in the return but the contract as well.
The Red Wings ultimately received DeBrincat from the Senators while Ottawa received forward Dominik Kubalik, defensive prospect Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick. That is all it took for Yzerman to get his guy this off-season.
DeBrincat comes to Detroit as a goal-scoring threat and gives them elite scoring on a regular shift and on the power play. He also gives the Red Wings a player who is not afraid to shoot at any point either.
While not being the biggest player in the league, he is shifty and makes things happen in the blink of an eye. He will slot in on the top line with captain Dylan Larkin and whomever head coach Derek Lalonde puts next to them.
While playing last season for the Senators, DeBrincat scored 27 goals and 39 assists for 66 points in 82 games, also accumulating 45 penalty minutes.
With the trade now official, Detroit and Yzerman wasted no time giving DeBrincat a new contract extension. DeBrincat wanted an eight-year deal, and Yzerman wanted none of that, which is what held the deal up from being completed much sooner.
Yzerman worked his magic once again and signed DeBrincat to a four-year, $31.5 million deal, an AAV of $7,875,000. This is tremendous value for the Red Wings, as he comes in lower than expected.
Included in the deal was a conditional first-round pick. The way this works is that the Detroit Red Wings can decide which first-round pick Ottawa gets in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. It will be Detroit’s original pick in the first round or that of the Boston Bruins, which was acquired in the Tyler Bertuzzi trade.
The Senators are getting fair value in return for DeBrincat. Kubalik is a middle-six forward that can be useful on a regular line and on the power play while playing solid minutes. He has a lethal shot that can create rebounds and can simply go through the goaltender.
Sebrango is a solid, well-rounded prospect on the blueline that can eat minutes and supply offense from time to time. The picks are what were expected in this type of trade, regardless of who DeBrincat was traded to. Early indications say this was a win for the Detroit Red Wings.