EP Rinkside’s Ryan Lambert weighs in as to the boost that Alex DeBrincat may or may not be able to bring to Detroit this morning:
Detroit is making a solid bet here. The money’s fine, the acquisition cost was pretty good, and DeBrincat no doubt makes them better. This would have been a difficult trade for them to not-win, and in the end they won handily.
The concern, I think, is that this just nudges them up into the “Buffalo and Ottawa” tier of Eastern Conference also-rans. Which, as noted several days ago, just ends with them picking 15th or so for the foreseeable future. The Senators brought in a better crop of players last summer than Detroit has since the free agency window opened, and it didn’t get them very far.
The real issue for the Red Wings is that they absolutely need Raymond and Berggren and even Moritz Seider to take additional steps. It’s not impossible, and DeBrincat certainly raises the floor on what they’re going to achieve this season and at least the three beyond it.
But let’s not get too out over our skis about this being any kind of rebuild extender or youth movement. DeBrincat is only a year and a half younger than Larkin, and doesn’t have a lot of room left to grow as a player. He is what he has been.
It’s up to him, his teammates, and the coaching staff to ensure that’s closer to the 40-goal guy he was in Chicago than the 25-goal guy he was in Ottawa.
Either way, though, is an offensive weapon they got for a shockingly low price. So Wings fans should be happy with the outcome. Even if this was the only place he was ever going to wind up.
Continued (paywall)
