Yahoo Sports’ Nick Ashbourne discusses the Red Wings’ trade for Alex DeBrincat today, suggesting that Detroit “won the trade” in terms of player personnel compensation and monetary compensation:
The success of any deal for an RFA is tied up in the subsequent extension. Even if the pure compensation side is light, the move can be a flop if a team goes on to overpay the player it has given up assets for.
Detroit has not done that here. The four-year, $31.5 million contract the Red Wings signed DeBrincat to was nothing short of outstanding for the team.
This deal gives the winger a cap hit that is tied for the 48th-highest among NHL forwards, which feels on the light side for one of the league’s top scorers.
Over the last three seasons, DeBrincat’s 100 goals rank 12th in the NHL. Since he debuted in 2017-18, his 187 goals rank 14th. The winger has been labelled a power-play specialist at times, but his ranks in even-strength goals over those time periods are 16th and 20th, respectively. The man puts the puck in the back of the net like few others.
He’s also been exceedingly durable, missing just four games in his career. DeBrincat is available, consistent, and dangerous.
That doesn’t mean he’s a perfect player. The undersized winger (5-foot-8, 178 pounds) is no Mark Stone defensively, and his 2022-23 campaign in Ottawa wasn’t his best.
DeBrincat isn’t as good an overall player as he is a scorer, but scoring is a forward’s most important function — and there are few who do it better. On this deal, the Red Wings get four years of that dependable scoring at a price point that is going to get better with time.
