Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin grades the Alex DeBrincat trade this morning, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings’ one-player haul:
The Red Wings haven’t even had a 35-goal scorer in 14 years. The last to do it was Marian Hossa, who had 40 in 2008-09, the year before he embarked on his long and fruitful tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks. DeBrincat instantly becomes Detroit’s top pure goal-scoring threat since Hossa. DeBrincat owns a pair of 41-goal seasons, he’s a three-time 30-goal scorer and he’s scored at least 27 goals in five of his six NHL seasons. His “down” 2022-23, in which he slipped from 41 to 27 goals after the Blackhawks traded him to Ottawa, came while playing most frequently with rookie Shane Pinto as his center. In Detroit, DeBrincat should get frequent ice time with captain and strong play driver Dylan Larkin. Because DeBrincat and Raymond also both have the ability to play either wing, coach Derek Lalonde will have the option of loading up for a super line, too.
So we have a team trying to break through as a playoff contender, desperate to improve its offense, snatching one of the league’s better goal-scorers away from the team that finished directly above them in their own division. The Wings, flexing their extreme leverage in this situation, get DeBrincat and only have to lose middle-six winger Dominik Kubalik from their current starting lineup in the process. And best of all, they get DeBrincat at a reasonable AAV that will pay him through the rest of his prime.
I almost have no notes, here. Finally, Detroit adds a legitimate top-line NHL forward, and the cost was extremely reasonable.
Continued; the Wings earn an A and the Sens get a C-.
Update: Daily Faceoff’s Nick Alberga also weighs in on DeBrincat’s fantasy hockey value:
In DeBrincat, the Red Wings are getting a hired gun. The 25-year-old sniper has hit the 40-goal plateau twice and has potted 25-plus goals in five of his six NHL seasons to-date. In his lone season with the Senators, the former Erie Otter tallied 27 goals and 66 points suiting up in all 82 regular season outings.
The addition of DeBrincat to the top-six should help to boost everyone around him —including the likes of Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, David Perron and Moritz Seider. Now that his contract situation is sorted and he’s where he’s always wanted to be, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him completely go off in Detroit. Even with favourable deployment in Ottawa, the former Blackhawk got off to a very slow start and really didn’t hit his stride until late in the season. Despite that, he still managed to put up very reputable numbers. Because of the ‘off’ year, there’s no question DeBrincat’s fantasy stock has dropped from say a year ago at this time. That said, don’t sleep on him. This guy’s a perennial 40-goal scorer and should be high atop your list of potential bounce-back candidates entering the 2023-24 campaign.
