Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat put to rest rumors that he may “want out” from the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon, telling the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan and the rest of the assembled media that DeBrincat, who can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, plans on staying right here in Detroit:
“I’ve said it before, I love playing here,” DeBrincat said as the Wings concluded a third day of training camp practices. “But all of that is kind of put to the side right now. I’m focused on the season and getting the new systems and all that stuff, and meeting new guys, and just playing well. I want to get off to strong start and the rest will take care of itself, and we’ll see what happens.”
The Wings have missed the playoffs the last 10 consecutive seasons, but DeBrincat wants to “be part of the solution here and get back to the glory days and be a big part of that. I take a lot of pride playing for the Red Wings and putting that jersey on every night. Everyone in this room takes a lot of pride and has respect wearing that crest. It’s a privilege and something I don’t take care lightly.”
DeBrincat tied a career high last season, scoring 41 goals for a third time in his career. With salaries exploding around the NHL as the salary cap consistently rises each summer, DeBrincat is likely to earn a contract well past $10 million per season (currently has an annual average value of $7.875 million).
DeBrincat told Kulfan that he understood why negotiations with the Red Wings stalled while the team settled on Shawn Horcoff as Yzerman’s interim replacement…
“We kind of knew once all that happened (Yzerman’s transition in the front office), we knew it was something probably either of the sides wanted to do (contract negotiation) without anyone there,” DeBrincat said. “We’ll see what happens.”
And DeBrincat had this to say about Patrick Kane’s decision to head back to Chicago:
“He was a big part of our team, a big voice in the room, and a great player,” DeBrincat said. “It’s tough to lose him but we’ve added some good guys, good leaders. (But) it’s good to see him back there (Chicago). If he’s going to go anywhere, it’s there. That’s the spot that least upsets me. I hope he plays well and has some success.”
Without Kane, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan is well aware that the Wings will have to make adjustments…
“Kane was in on like 32 or 36% of Cat’s goals; that’s a pretty strong number,” McLellan said. “They had chemistry from years prior. They were very close around the rink. That will change now. It makes sense to keep Copper there. They were our best line down the stretch, and then throw Razor in there and encourage him to shoot (the puck) and maybe we have something there. But it will be different for him (DeBrincat), for all of us. He’s Patrick Kane.”
And McLellan gave DeBrincat a huge compliment in terms of his importance to the team, as MLive’s Ansar Khan noted:
“At a time of the year (late in the season) where we needed a lot of guys, he was still performing and I think that’s his spirit,” McLellan said. “He’s competitive in everything he does. We talk about being abrasive or harder. He plays the game that way and he may be one of our smaller players. (Assistant coach) Trent Yawney and I say this all the time, we didn’t quite understand what Alex DeBrincat was all about until we came here, and we appreciate him a lot more now. Also, away from the rink with all that’s going on and around us, he’s been one of the guys that stepped up and arranged things for teammates and make sure that everything’s taken care of for guys. So, some real good leadership qualities there.”
