Alex DeBrincat Gets His Wish; Senators Acquire Players, Picks – Tarasenko Incoming?

From the moment Alex DeBrincat was acquired by the Ottawa Senators in July of 2022 from the Chicago Blackhawks, the Detroit area resident said it’d take a while for his family which included a new-born baby to get acclimated to a new city/country.

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was in no rush to re-sign the two-time 41-goal scorer, saying there would be a feeling-out period by both parties.

The 2022-23 season came and went. DeBrincat recorded a career-high 39 assists, but his 27-goal total was his second-fewest in his six career NHL campaigns to date. This, despite peppering opposing netminders with 263 shots, his second-most – DeBrincat’s shooting percentage of 10.3 % was 5.2 % lower than his career average.

At his season-ending media availability, DeBrincat re-iterated having trouble adjusting to a new city and new team,  “I think (there were) some ups and downs. It was obviously an adjustment coming here – changed up pretty much everything. Even outside the rink, it’s a little different for a family. I felt towards the end of the year, I found more consistency in my game. Tried to find that space to kind of play my game and stay within the system to be effective. Maybe I kind of struggled with it at the beginning of the year, where that middle ground was. But that was the best way to describe it. Hopefully, this will make me better for next year.”

At that same presser, Dorion made it clear if DeBrincat wanted to remain an Ottawa Senator, the team would find a way to make it at fit, if not the GM will study his options, “We’re going to have to look at our options. If he wants to sign, I think we can get a contract done. If players want to stay, we talk contract. If players don’t want to stay, we move on. But if he doesn’t want to stay, we’ve got to look at our options.”

🚨🚨Night Cap Recap: Alex DeBrincat to Detroit🚨🚨#lgrw #gosensgo @FullPressNHL @FP_Coverage @myNHLTradeRumor @RickyOtazu16 @lettalksport @GoalgettersS2 pic.twitter.com/aqxgp7swAM

— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) July 10, 2023

Dorion knew if DeBrincat was to remain in Ottawa, it would be tough to issue a qualifying offer of $9 million of which the diminutive forward was owed next season. Knowing this was the case, the Senators GM filed for club-elected arbitration which would’ve decreased DeBrincat’s salary to $7.65M for the 2023-24 campaign.

In the end, DeBrincat’s agent Jeff Jackson stood firm, advising the team, his client wouldn’t ink a long-term contract with the Senators. And after a back and forth in the media, the Senators/DeBrincat saga came to a swift conclusion Sunday evening.

The Senators sent the disgruntled forward to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Dominik Kubalik, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, a conditional 2024 first-round and 2024 fourth-round selection.

The conditions for the Senators’ incoming conditional first-round pick is as follows:

The Red Wings have the option of sending their own 2024 first-round pick of the Boston Bruins 2024 first-round pick acquired in the Tyler Bertuzzi trade deadline swap to Ottawa. However, if the Bruins 2024 first-round selection eventually becomes a top-10 pick following the Draft Lottery, the Bruins have the option of retaining the pick or transferring their 2025 first-round selection to the Red Wings, Detroit will then have the option of sending the Bruins 2025 first-round pick to the Senators or their own 2024 first-rounder.

Got it, there’ll be a quiz later.

As for Alex DeBrincat, he receives his wish in being dealt to his hometown team. The native of Farmington Hills, MI agreed to a four-year contract that carries a $7.875M average annual value.

The breakdown is as follows via Puckpedia:

Year One, $8.25M, Year Two, $8.25M (M-NTC), Year Three, $8.25M (M-NTC), Year Four $6.75M (M-NTC) M-NTC.

The modified no-trade clause in years 2-4 is 16 teams.

Around Full Press Hockey

NHL Rumors: NHL Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes

NHL:  Alexander Mogilny Deserves To Be In The Hockey Hall of Fame

NHL Draft: 2023 NHL Draft: Every First-Round Selection

Full Press Bets:  PODCAST: Stack The Pucks – 2023-2024 Stanley Cup Odds

PODCAST: Ep 64: Hockey Hall Of Fame, Free Agency, and More

WANT MORE PODCASTS? Check Out Some Of The Latest From Around The FPC Network

In the acquisition of Dominik Kubalik, the Senators receive a left wing who’s capable of playing on the second or third line. The 27-year-old notched 20 goals and 25 assists in 81 games for the Red Wings last season.

12 of his 20 markers were tallied at even strength, a facet of the game that the Senators sorely need.

Kubalik burst into the NHL at the age of 24 in 2019-20 after a strong season in the Swiss League with Ambri-Piotta. The former Sudbury Wolve/Kitchener Ranger registered 30 goals in 68 games for the Blackhawks and was a Calder Trophy candidate.

Kubalik is entering the final year of his contract which carries a $2.5M cap hit.

It’s also a bit of a homecoming of sorts for defenseman Donovan Sebrango. A native of Ottawa, Sebrango played four games for the CCHL Ottawa Jr. Senators prior to playing for the Ontario League Kitchener Rangers. A 2020 Red Wings third-round selection, Sebrango split the season between the American League Grand Rapids Griffins and East Coast League Toledo Walleye, totaling 62 regular season appearances, registering four goals and 14 assists between the two clubs, adding one goal and one assist in 13 postseason outings for Toledo.

Sebrango, an alternate captain for Canada’s Gold Medal World Junior squad in 2022, will likely open next season for the Senators American League affiliate in Belleville.

With this trade, the Senators currently have $5M in cap space, but this total doesn’t include unsigned restricted free agent forwards Shane Pinto and Egor Sokolov.

There’s a possibility of an additional $1.3M in savings, if the Toronto Maple Leafs buy out former Senators’ goalie Matt Murray.

With Ilya Samsonov filing for arbitration, a second buyout window was triggered for Toronto.

The Senators are nowhere close to being done this offseason. Rumours of signing free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko persist. Forwards Tomas Tatar and Pius Suter remain available.

All of this is worth watching; there’s still very little wiggle room left on the cap for Pierre Dorion to work with. There may still be a subtraction from his current roster in order to make another key forward add this offseason.