97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield weighs in regarding the Alex DeBrincat trade this morning:
Suddenly, this is a team that can, and arguably should, expect to make the playoffs next season for the first time in eight years. DeBrincat is that good, and that suitable to the Red Wings’ biggest need, a two-time 40-goal scorer who looks like a natural fit next to Dylan Larkin, a burgeoning playmaker in his own right. Yzerman had added depth and toughness to Detroit’s roster this offseason, especially to the middle two forward lines. DeBrincat adds top-line talent.
“Good teams have depth. I think we have some depth. We would all love a couple of big-time scorers,” Yzerman said last week after a series of free agency signings. “We’ll continue to work at that, and how we go about it is a bit of a challenge.”
Don’t be fooled by DeBrincat’s size. The 5’8 sniper is about as big-time as they come. His 187 goals are 14th most in the NHL over his six-year career. He’s one of only four wingers with multiple seasons of more than 40 goals in the last five years, a list otherwise comprised of Ovechkin, Pastrnak and Robertson. DeBrincat also scored at a 50-goal pace in the COVID-shortened season of 2020-21, when his 32 goals trailed only McDavid and Matthews. When it comes to putting the puck in the net, this is the company he keeps.
Critics will understandably point out that DeBrincat is coming off a down season in which he scored just 27 goals and finished minus-31. We’d only counter that 27 goals still would have ranked second on his new team and that his shooting percentage is likely to rebound to his career norm after a rather precipitous drop last season. And that even if it doesn’t, DeBrincat’s plus-minus should benefit from the Red Wings’ improved defensive structure under Derek Lalonde.
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