The Free Press’s Helene St. James weighed in regarding the Alex DeBrincat trade today, and she emphasizes Steve Yzerman’s perspective in having completed his main summertime task:
Steve Yzerman has a few administrative things to take care of this week, but otherwise, things are about to dramatically slow down.
That was Yzerman’s report Monday from his office suite at Little Caesars Arena, where his list of 2023-24 Detroit Red Wings now includes Alex DeBrincat. It took about two weeks of chatting with his Ottawa Senators counterpart to get the deal finalized, and the end result is adding the offensive firepower the Wings needed.
“We talked about adding goal-scoring ability to the team and I think Alex definitely fits that bill,” Yzerman said. “I think he’s a very intelligent hockey player. He has shown he can score goals at every level – at the junior level, at the NHL level. Very intelligent player. He’ll fit in nicely on the wing with us, whoever the coach decides to play with him.
“I would say I think we’re a better team today with Alex DeBrincat in the lineup. I hope all the changes we’ve made, additions we’ve made, make us a more competitive team.”
It cost Dominik Kubalik, a veteran winger who scored 20 goals last season; mid-range defense prospect Donovan Sebrango, and a conditional first-round and fourth-round pick in 2024. The condition is the Wings get to choose between their own or the one they got from the Boston Bruins in the Tyler Bertuzzi trade, so that, Yzerman said, “gives us a little protection.” The Wings turned around and signed DeBrincat for four years at a $7.875 million annual average value.
“It was a number we were both comfortable with,” Yzerman said. “Bringing a player in, things are changing. You’re starting to see more players signing shorter-term contracts, not necessarily going the full seven and eight years. We discussed four and five and we were both comfortable doing four years.”
