The Athletic’s Ian Mendes discusses the taboo that involves NHL teams making trades to division rivals this morning, with Mendes suggesting that there should not be such a hubbub about teams like the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings possibly doing business to move one Alex DeBrincat:
The Red Wings could desperately use an infusion of talent in their forward group. Detroit has clearly labelled Filip Zadina a failed experiment. Their top goal-scoring winger last season was 34-year-old David Perron, who tallied 24 goals. DeBrincat’s down season in 2022-23, which saw him only score 27 goals, would still make him the highest-scoring winger for the Red Wings.
Given the fact that DeBrincat grew up in the state of Michigan, it’s safe to assume the Red Wings would be on his shortlist of preferred destinations. Detroit also has the draft capital, prospect pool and cap space to make this trade a reality. In some ways, this feels like the most natural landing spot for DeBrincat.
But should Ottawa be leery of sending a two-time 40-goal scorer to a divisional rival?
When Boston and Toronto made the Kessel trade in 2009, the Bruins were coming off a first-place, 116-point campaign. The Maple Leafs, conversely, finished dead last in the division with only 81 points. So maybe Boston didn’t feel that sending Kessel to Toronto would significantly shift the balance of power in their rivalry. (Sure enough, the Bruins were crowned Stanley Cup champions about 20 months after this trade, while the Leafs continued to languish in the basement of the standings.)
The Ottawa-Detroit dynamic right now is quite a bit different. While both the Senators and Red Wings are mired in two of the longest active playoff droughts in the league, both franchises feel like they are on the precipice of success.
Ottawa might feel concerned that by sending DeBrincat to Detroit, it would push the Red Wings over the threshold of success and into a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. If there is only one new playoff spot up for grabs in the Eastern Conference next season, the Senators would probably be kicking themselves if they improved Detroit’s roster in a manner that pushed the Red Wings into a postseason spot at the expense of Ottawa.
Continued (paywall)
