The Ottawa Senators got their hands on Alex DeBrincat in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, hours before the first round of the 2022 Upper Deck Draft.
In return for the forward, the Blackhawks receive the seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft, the Senators’ second-round pick (39th overall) and a third-round pick in 2024.
« Alex DeBrincat was our number one target, without a doubt. For us, he is a player who brings character, he is able to count and he wants to win.
“He knows that we are a team on the rise, a growing team. He was very happy to join us. »
DeBrincat has 78 points, including 41 goals, in 82 games this season. The 24-year-old winger has one season left on the three-year, $19.2 million ($6.4 million annual average) contract he signed on October 3, 2019.
Dorion has yet to speak to DeBrincat’s agent, who will be able to become a restricted free agent at the end of his contract, but he hopes to be able to get along with his new forward in the long term.
Debrincat will be eligible for a contract extension starting July 13.
In Ottawa, DeBrincat will be led by coach DJ Smith, whom he faced in the junior ranks. Dorion said Smith had floated the possibility of pairing DeBrincat with Tim Stützle.
“DJ tells us that in addition to being able to score goals, he has in his opinion a sense of the game that is completely out of the ordinary,” mentioned Dorion. He is able to play games in tight spaces. »
With this trade, the Senators have no pick until the end of the second round, the 64th overall. Dorion indicated that the defender Thomas Chabot was to announce the team’s first-round pick, but that he wasn’t too disappointed not to complete the task.
Speaking of disappointment, Dorion said his amateur scouts would have liked to make a first-round pick, but they fully understood why the team made the trade.
“My scouts told me they had a clause in their contract that would give them a bonus for making the playoffs…they told me they were looking forward to it,” Dorion joked.
The Senators missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth straight season by virtue of their 33-42-7 record.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said on June 29 that he wasn’t closing the door on trading DeBrincat.
“There are certain players who are untouchables by virtue of their contract status. These are achievements that these players have earned. We’re going to respect that,” Davidson commented. “But we are in a position where we listen (to the offers). I think it would be illogical to do otherwise. »
Davidson also indicated that he was looking at his options for a first-round pick this year.
“We don’t have one right now and it would be nice to have one, but we won’t force things,” he said. When you try to force things, that’s where you make mistakes. We’ll see if we can get our hands on a first-round pick, we’d like to. However, this might not be possible. »
The Blackhawks (27-42-11) did not qualify for the playoffs this season. They have won only one series – in the 2020 Stanley Cup qualifying round against the Edmonton Oilers – since winning the Stanley Cup in 2015 for the third time in six seasons (2010 and 2013 ). Davidson continues to believe it’s a rebuild that will get the Blackhawks back to what made them so successful not so long ago.
A second-round pick (39th overall) in the 2016 draft, DeBrincat has 307 points (160 goals, 147 assists) in 368 regular season games and six points (two goals, four assists) in nine playoff games.
“We thank Alex for his tireless dedication to the Blackhawks organization over the past five seasons and wish him the best of luck in Ottawa,” said Davidson. It was an extremely difficult decision to trade a player of this caliber. We believe this gesture sets the foundation for the Blackhawks’ success in the future. Getting our hands on a first-round pick tonight and another second-round pick tomorrow allows us to fortify our pool of prospects with some very talented players who we believe can make a difference in the years to come. »