Author: George Malik

Alex DeBrincat gave the NHL Network’s “The NHL Tonight” a 5:32 interview:

Update: Here’s the YouTube version:

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reviews the comments made by Steve Yzerman and Alex DeBrincat to the media this morning, discussing DeBrincat’s Michigan ties:

“It’s super exciting obviously,” said DeBrincat. “Growing up here and rooting for the Red Wings when I was younger, it’s definitely a dream come true. I do have to say I don’t think anyone’s happier than my parents. It’s the whole family. Everyone’s happy. It’s a good spot for me. ”

DeBrincat grew up in Farmington Hills and that’s where he started playing youth hockey.

“I played for the Farmington Hills Fire for quite a few years at Farmington Hills Ice Arena, so that rink is pretty special,” DeBrincat said. “Then I moved on to play for Victory Honda, which I’ve trained at for the past couple of years, too. Going to that gym and skating there. Those rinks are obviously special to me. I’ve had a lot of good memories there. It’s just nice to be back here and enjoy this.”

Among DeBrincat’s favorite childhood memories was watching his favorite player Pavel Datsyuk and rooting for the Red Wings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2008. He was 11 then.

His Red Wings fandom also included the latter stages of Steve Yzerman’s career. That’s why it was special when Yzerman called him yesterday after the negotiations with the agent had been completed.

“It was awesome,” DeBrincat said. “Obviously we found out everything was going to be done. He called me a little later last night and we just chatted for a couple of minutes. I just told him I’m really excited to be here. I’m excited for the opportunity that this team is giving me. He just kind of went through what would kind of be our team, what it’s like. It was a good chat.”

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Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that the New York Islanders were the other team in the race for Alex DeBrincat’s services, and they lost out to the Red Wings:

The two-time 40-goal scorer from Farmington Hills, Michigan, was exactly what the Islanders needed. But the Islanders’ proposed trade package, which included center Jean-Gabriel Pageau and the remaining three seasons of his six-year, $30 million deal as well as right wing Oliver Wahlstrom, per an NHL source, did not entice the Senators. It seems certain [Islanders GM Lou] Lamoriello would have had to include a first-round pick and maybe a prospect as well, and the Islanders have not picked in the first round since 2019 and may be reluctant to surrender future premium picks.

It also seems likely the Senators did not want to take on any large salaries such as Pageau, who is from Ottawa and played his first seven-plus NHL seasons with the Senators.

The Red Wings landed DeBrincat on Sunday in exchange for forward Dominik Kubalik, entering the last season of a two-year, $5 million deal, defense prospect Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick in 2024 and a fourth-round pick in 2024.

“There’s just a limited number of actual what we call — I don’t know what the true definition of a goal scorer is, but there just aren’t a lot of them around the league,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said on Monday’s teleconference. “The guys that can get [the puck] on the stick and any time they shoot it, it looks like it has a chance of going in. We categorize Alex in that mode, as a sniper. Just one shot can change a game.”

DeBrincat, 25, has scored 41 goals twice in his six NHL seasons. He promptly agreed to a four-year, $31.5 million extension with the Red Wings.

The source said it was the Islanders’ understanding DeBrincat was willing to sign a new deal with them.

The Red Wings and the Islanders were believed to be the two teams seriously vying for DeBrincat.

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Full Press Hockey’s Elaine Shircliff did a fine job of summarizing the Grand Rapids Griffins’ offseason changes, and here’s the start of her survey:

The 2022-23 season was another lackluster one for the Grand Rapids Griffins. Despite having a roster full of young talent and strong veterans, the Griffins failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row. To add insult to injury, their 64 points and record of 28-36-4-4 placed Grand Rapids toward the bottom of the league standings (30th out of 32 teams).

At the end of the season, General Manager Shawn Horcoff decided the Griffins needed a new voice in the locker room and decided to not renew the contracts of all of the coaching staff except video coach Mike Knuble (who ended up leaving the organization on June 22).

Even though the season was a little cloudy for the Griffins, there were many bright spots on the roster which helped salvage the season. 

Forward Taro Hirose led the Griffins with 41 assists and 57 points, while Joel L’Esperance led the team with 25 goal. L’Esperance’s 14 power play goals was third best in the league, tied with Michael Carcone of the Tucson Roadrunners. 

Jared McIsaac brought strength to the blue line at both even strength and on the power play. His ability to compose 200-foot plays based on how the opponent was playing allowed the Griffins to string together multiple successful plays all season.

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The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch has written an after-the-fact take on the Alex DeBrincat deal from a Senators perspective this evening:

Sources say DeBrincat didn’t like being in the second-line role behind Tkachuk and didn’t feel there would ever be an opportunity to move up the depth chart. DeBrincat made it clear speaking with Detroit reporters Monday morning he had no intention of signing with the Senators.

“We spent a year there and we just didn’t really have enough time to think about signing long-term there. I think there were probably better fits out there for me,” DeBrincat said. “That’s why we said we weren’t going to sign long-term at that time. They made decision to try to get something for me and avoid me walking for free next year. Once I said that I think the writing was on the wall and they were ready to move me.”

So erase the talk that DeBrincat never asked for a trade or he was waiting to see who the new owner might be before making a decision. The reality is he wanted to return home to Detroit and, as he spoke with reporters from the area, he couldn’t hide his excitement that the trade worked out.

The Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars and New York Islanders all made a hard push for DeBrincat, but they had no chance of signing him. He and his Toronto-based agent, Jeff Jackson, were trying to engineer a trade to Detroit throughout this process, so that made it difficult for Dorion.

DeBrincat makes his off-season home just outside the city and grew up there.

“Detroit was my No. 1. There were definitely other teams I think but in the end I’m happy I’m here,” he said. “I’m happy to join this team and I think this team has a lot of potential.”

Yzerman said it didn’t take long to get this deal done. He spoke with Dorion before the NHL draft in Nashville late last month, revisited it around July 1 and then got on the phone Sunday to see if they could get it across the finish line. At that point, DeBrincat agreed to the contract.

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The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton weighs in regarding the comments made by Steve Yzerman and Alex DeBrincat’s respective press conferences earlier today:

Yesterday evening, DeBrincat was having a “chill day” at that home with his wife Lyndsey and one-year-old son Archie when the family learned that their off-season house could remain their in-season house for at least the next four years.  “I don’t think anyone’s happier than my parents,” said DeBrincat of the busy day; the trips to watch their son play and grandson grow up will be short and frequent.

For Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, the deal met a major off-season demand by bringing in a rare asset in the NHL, a player who “anytime they shoot it, it looks like they have a chance to go in.”  A “medium-term” extension, as Yzerman called DeBrincat’s new four year, $31.5 million ticket, works for both parties.  

The Red Wings won’t be locked into seven or eight seasons of a player who has yet to prove his fit in Detroit, while DeBrincat will get the chance to return to free agency in his (late) 20s, when the cap should have swollen and he will still have valuable years left to offer.

That DeBrincat hails from Farmington Hills provided some extra value for the Red Wings as well.  “To have some local ties is great for these players and for our market as well,” said Yzerman.  He added that free agents with more connection to their new home than just dollars and cents tend to be “more invested” in the project they’re joining.

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Per the Toledo Walleye:

🚨 PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

We've inked former Spartan forward Mitchell Lewandowski for the 2023-24 season.

👉 https://t.co/yJmyY1mol4 pic.twitter.com/5to4Sjltbp

— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) July 10, 2023

Here’s the press release:

(Toledo, OH) – Former Michigan State Spartan forward Mitchell Lewandowski has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2023-2024 season.

Lewandowski, the Clarkson, Michigan native, completed a five-year college career at Michigan State that saw him appear in 156 games with 120 points (56G, 54A) and 144 penalty minutes. The 25-year-old posted 19 points (7G, 12A) in 27 games during his final college campaign in 2021-2022. Lewandowski was the Big 10 Rookie of the Year in the 2017-2018 season when he picked up 19 goals and 34 points in 36 contests which was good for second on the Spartans in scoring.

He made his pro-debut with Tucson at the end of the 2021-2022 season, appearing in 14 games with a pair of goals and one assist. Lewandowski signed with Orlando last season but did not play for the Solar Bears. Prior to his college days, he was a member of the 2017 USHL Clark Cup champion Chicago Steel.

Here’s what NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika took away from Steve Yzerman and Alex DeBrincat’s respective press conferences:

Amid their many moves in that time, they have kept or added some players with local ties. They signed center Andrew Copp, who grew up in Ann Arbor and played at the University of Michigan, to a five-year contract with an AAV of $5.625 million as an unrestricted free agent July 13, 2022.

They signed captain Dylan Larkin, who grew up in the Detroit area (Waterford) and played at Michigan, to an eight-year contract with an AAV of $8.7 million March 1, keeping him from becoming a UFA.

They signed center J.T. Compher, who grew up in the Chicago (Northbrook) area but played at Michigan, to a five-year contract with an AAV of $5.1 million as a UFA on July 1. And now they’ve added DeBrincat and locked him down for four years.

“Ultimately, I want really good players,” Yzerman said. “I don’t care where they’re from, but I think it is a bonus.”

These players are familiar with the Detroit area and each other. They have extra incentive to play for the Red Wings, persevere through hard times and help them take the next step. And they can connect with the fans through something as simple as genuinely wearing a Pistons hat, because, as DeBrincat said, “it’s just a cool hat.”

“If they’re free agents, they want to be there for some reason,” Yzerman said. “I think the players with local ties, I think there’s an added benefit to it. When you target a specific place for the right reasons — for very good reasons and not just going to, say, get the top dollar — I think the player’s more invested in it.”

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The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi discusses the Alex DeBrincat deal from a draft-picks-and-cents perspective this evening:

Much speculation surrounded the impending trade and extension, with numerous outlets reporting DeBrincat may have been looking for upward of eight years of term. Ultimately, a four-year extension made sense for both sides, Yzerman said.

“It was a number we were both comfortable with. … Things are changing. You’re starting to see more players — at least this offseason, and I think it might be a trend — more players signing shorter-term contracts, not necessarily going the full seven and eight years,” Yzerman said.

“We discussed four and five years, and ultimately, we were both comfortable doing four years.”

Part of the trend Yzerman was referring to may have to do with the recent stagnation of the league’s salary cap. The cap rose year over year from $56.8 million (2009-10) to $81.5 million (2019-20) in the span of a decade, but loss of revenue from the pandemic forced the number to stay at $81.5 million through the 2021-22 season.

It has increased by $1 million each of the last two seasons but is expected to see a significant jump for the 2024-25 season. Players of DeBrincat’s caliber would find it risky to take a short-term deal (even in two years, a lot can go wrong), but at the same time, a long-term deal may had his contract looking like peanuts by the time the cap jumps again.

Hence, why a four-year deal was a fit for both sides: DeBrincat will hit unrestricted free agency again at age 29, in a cap-infused landscape, while the Red Wings can have comfort in knowing that they’ve got an elite scorer on a team-friendly deal while they look to turn the corner.

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Discuss as you will, per 97.1 the Ticket:

With Alex DeBrincat in tow, should the Red Wings take aim at his old linemate with the Blackhawks? Gator says No. 88 would look good in Detroit:

“Here’s another name I want to throw out as a possibility. People have talked about the best years for DeBrincat were in Chicago with Patrick Kane. Patrick Kane’s a free agent.”

You want to put Patrick Kane here?

“I do. Because I don’t think he’s going to cost you much, even if it’s just a one-year, prove-that-you’re-healthy deal.”

Kane underwent hip surgery in June with an expected recovery time of four to six months. That likely puts him back in action by November. DeBrincat was a two-time 40-goal scorer playing with Kane in Chicago, and the two of them could team up with Dylan Larkin on Detroit’s top line. Kane is eighth in the NHL in points over the last five seasons, but was limited to 57 points in 73 games last year due in part to his injury.

At this stage of his career, who knows if he would be open to joining a team that isn’t yet a Cup contender. And as Karsch says, any potential contract “comes with a risk because the guy is 34 years old coming off a significant injury. The risk is that it would be a waste of resources.”

The Red Wings still have $8 million in cap space after acquiring DeBrincat. And Steve Yzerman did say Monday that he’s willing to spend to the ceiling if it makes the team better next season and that he’s “not going to rule anything out.”