The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton is new to the Red Wings beat, so, “Welcome, Sam!”
This morning, Sam wraps up the Red Wings’ first-round selections, and he sets up the subtext regarding the Red Wings’ potential 2023 Draft, Day 2 machinations:
Heading into the draft, there was speculation that Detroit was close on a deal for [Alex] DeBrincat or might even have interest in moving further up the first round pecking order. Neither of those moves came to fruition.
“We had some discussions with teams on both picks,” Yzerman told the press. “When our picks were coming up, the options to move back were interesting, but we had two particular players in each case we wanted to use the picks on.” Unsurprisingly, he did not comment directly on the status of a hypothetical deal for DeBrincat.
Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion, however, did address those rumors, saying that DeBrincat “indicated he didn’t want to sign long-term, he never requested a trade, but [he told the Senators] free agency only comes once for him” at his pre-draft availability.
“I’m talking to multiple teams,” Dorion continued. “It’s not a big secret, he’s aware of it, and I think we should be up front with it. But at the same time we’re not going to trade him for pennies on the dollar. We feel he’s a really good asset.”
There is no incentive for either Dorion or Yzerman to be candid to the press with respect to their DeBrincat plans. However, it doesn’t feel out of bounds to say that what might have seemed like a certainty earlier this week is now in doubt.
Dorion also told reporters that DeBrincat has not yet gotten permission to talk to other teams about a potential extension, since the Senators are not yet satisfied with any of the offers on the table. That’s a major variable/impediment here, since a trade without an extension won’t make sense for the Wings.
We now know for certain that Yzerman wasn’t willing to part with a 2023 first to bring in DeBrincat, but does that also apply to his 2024 firsts? Is Dorion actually comfortable bringing DeBrincat back on a one-year $9 million deal (his qualifying offer) that would usher him straight to free agency next July, or is that just posturing for the press to drive up the asking price?
