During a summer of spiraling salaries, MLive’s Ansar Khan attempts to discern how much money it will cost the Red Wings to extend Alex DeBrincat:
Only 10 players scored more goals than DeBrincat last season and he’s coming off a career-high 85 points. DeBrincat’s 80 goals over the past two seasons is tied for sixth in the NHL, only eight behind leader Cole Caufield of Montreal during that stretch.
DeBrincat is a proven goal-scorer, having tallied 27 or more in eight of his nine seasons, scoring 41 three times. He’s also durable, having played 456 consecutive games, the third-longest active streak in the league behind Brent Burns (1,007) and Nick Suzuki (537).
Put all these factors together and the end result is DeBrincat will be the highest-paid player in franchise history in 2027-28, up from his current $7.875 million AAV to perhaps around $12 million a season.
That’s what Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor signed for at the start of last season (eight years, $96 million). He might be the closest comparison to DeBrincat.
The NHL salary cap increased from $95.5 million in 2025-26 to $104 million this season. It’s projected to rise to $113.5 million in 2027-28 and $123 million the following season. The timing worked out nicely for DeBrincat.
It also shows why the Red Wings have a bargain in Larkin, who turned 30 today. He’s locked up for five more years at an $8.7 million AAV ($7.7 million average in actual salary). He requested a trade months ago, but you don’t relinquish a player like that in today’s NHL without making sure you get a good deal.
