The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi discusses the Alex DeBrincat deal from a draft-picks-and-cents perspective this evening:
Much speculation surrounded the impending trade and extension, with numerous outlets reporting DeBrincat may have been looking for upward of eight years of term. Ultimately, a four-year extension made sense for both sides, Yzerman said.
“It was a number we were both comfortable with. … Things are changing. You’re starting to see more players — at least this offseason, and I think it might be a trend — more players signing shorter-term contracts, not necessarily going the full seven and eight years,” Yzerman said.
“We discussed four and five years, and ultimately, we were both comfortable doing four years.”
Part of the trend Yzerman was referring to may have to do with the recent stagnation of the league’s salary cap. The cap rose year over year from $56.8 million (2009-10) to $81.5 million (2019-20) in the span of a decade, but loss of revenue from the pandemic forced the number to stay at $81.5 million through the 2021-22 season.
It has increased by $1 million each of the last two seasons but is expected to see a significant jump for the 2024-25 season. Players of DeBrincat’s caliber would find it risky to take a short-term deal (even in two years, a lot can go wrong), but at the same time, a long-term deal may had his contract looking like peanuts by the time the cap jumps again.
Hence, why a four-year deal was a fit for both sides: DeBrincat will hit unrestricted free agency again at age 29, in a cap-infused landscape, while the Red Wings can have comfort in knowing that they’ve got an elite scorer on a team-friendly deal while they look to turn the corner.
