Remember when the Philadelphia Flyers came very close to acquiring Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft?
How then-general manager, Chuck Fletcher, was coming off the heels of several press conferences talking about how the Flyers were going to be aggressive in their re-tool and would be looking at trying to bring over an elite talent, either through trade or free agency?
The asking price was apparently far too astronomical even for a free-slinging general manager like Fletcher and the Flyers balked only for Ottawa to step in and deliver the goods in the form of a first and second round pick in 2022 and future third round pick for the soon-to-be expiring contract of DeBrincat. It was reported the Blackhawks wanted the 5th overall selection that was eventually used on Cutter Gauthier, someone who the Flyers were very much enamoured by and had no inkling in passing on him.
Chicago didn’t have a first round pick entering the draft because they had traded it to Columbus in the blockbuster trade that landed them Seth Jones the year prior, Ironically enough, they left the night with 3 in their pocket after trading away DeBrincat, Kirby Dach as part of a three-team trade, and acquiring the contract of Petr Mrazek from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Fast forward one year later and the Senators were forced to trade the pending RFA to the Detroit Red Wings Sunday night in a sign-and-trade that netted them a conditional first round pick in 2024, a fourth round pick in 2024, Dominik Kubalik and a prospect.
The Senators have been swinging for big trades in recent memory as they also won the Jakob Chychrun sweepstakes ahead of the trade deadline but doled out a conditional first round pick in 2023, a conditional second round pick in 2024, and a future second round pick in 2026.
After wanting a deal similar to Timo Meier’s extension with the New Jersey Devils (8×8.8), DeBrincat agreed to a 4-year deal worth $7.875 million per season with the Red Wings.
Asset management went out the window last year for Pierre Dorion and the Ottawa Senators but at the very least, they used up valuable draft picks on budding stars like DeBrincat and Chychrun, whereas the Flyers emptied the tank – more so than Ottawa – for Rasmus Ristolainen, Tony DeAngelo, and dumping Shayne Gostisbehere:
DeBrincat’s tenure with the Senators was short but rocky and although he finished with a respectable 27 goals and 66 points in a full 82-game campaign, it wasn’t what anyone really expected with the Senators having more weapons at his disposal than he had in Chicago.
With the Blackhawks, he undoubtedly had one of the greatest playmakers on his wing in Patrick Kane and that should explain his two 40-goal campaigns as well as a 28-goal rookie season and a 32-goal in 52-game 2020-21. In 5 seasons, he scored 160 goals and 307 points in just 368 games and was coming off the heels of a career-high 41 goals and 78 points in 2022-22.
The Blackhawks having an eye towards the 2023 NHL Draft and Connor Bedard/Adam Fantilli/Matvei Michkov, decided to blow everything up and start from the ground floor. All they were left with were Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews who were on expiring contracts and Seth Jones, whose mammoth deal was only just kicking in. DeBrincat didn’t play into future plans and surprisingly neither did Kirby Dach.
The Senators went out and signed former Flyers captain, Claude Giroux, to add to their young talent in Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Thomas Chabot. Drake Batherson, Joshua Norris, Jake Sanderson, Erik Brannstrom, and Shane Pinto were also set to have bigger roles heading into the season. Goaltending was their lone true Achilles heel and eventually played a part in their downward spiral near the end of the season.
It became a pressing issue near the end of the season for the Senators because the writing was on the wall that DeBrincat had no desire to remain in Canada’s capital. Before he was traded from Chicago there were rumours and rumblings that he was seeking a deal worth upwards of $9 million-$10 million a season on a long-term 8-year deal.
The Senators were not too worried about that when they made the deal and were more than okay with letting contract negotiations enter the season and beyond.
Unfortunately, their attempts to keep him in Ottawa went for nought and it became a top priority for Dorion and company to find a trade partner and to do it ASAP. He wanted a Timo Meier-type contract but none of the teams involved or interested – Detroit, Anaheim, and the New York Islanders – were willing to go that high. The ballpark was around $7.8M AAV – a million less than Meier – and that was part of the reason why it stretched out as long as it did.
The Red Wings were looking for top-end talent and were always at the top of the rumour charts in relation to DeBrincat. It’s also no surprise considering the fact that they were circling the Flyers for Travis Konecny ahead of the 2023 draft.
If the Flyers had acquired DeBrincat ahead of the 2022 draft and were looking to re-sign him, would the same issues have persisted? Tough to tell because one of the main reasons as to why DeBrincat wanted out of Ottawa was to play in the U.S. and to be closer to his family – akin to Johnny Gaudreau. Being an RFA meant the Senators didn’t have to necessarily abide by his demands but that’s not how you conduct business in modern day sports anymore.
Looking back at it now, it wouldn’t have made sense with a rebuild on the horizon, but if Fletcher had made the deal at that moment, then the Flyers would’ve had both feet out the door and straight into an aggressive re-tool, compared to the half-in-half-out aggressive “rebuild” they tried to confuse us with.
Playing for a good market like Philadelphia would’ve probably enticed DeBrincat enough and considering his age, skill, and intangibles he would’ve been a great fit.
However, the Flyers would’ve had to offer him a large contract with high cap hit, something they’re trying their best to avoid now. The most important nugget is whether or not Fletcher would’ve still been around. The Flyers would’ve been arguably a little bit better last season with DeBrincat and that would’ve ruined their draft stock ahead of the main even in 2023. All but likely signalling that they wouldn’t have had a shot at drafting Matvei Michkov, while also not drafting Gauthier the year before.
Safe to say the Flyers are much better off without the DeBrincat contract on their books for the foreseeable future, Cutter Gauthier and Matvei Michkov in their pipeline, and Chuck Fletcher out of their front office and bringing in Daniel Briere who was more than willing to enter a rebuild.
Getting the proverbial problem out of the room is what Ottawa needed to do and now that he’s been traded, it definitely leaves a mark on their scouting and front office. They traded a 7th overall pick, 39th overall pick, and a future pick for one season of decent-to-good hockey in the idea and hopes that he’d re-sign.
Being Canadian myself, it has become very apparent over the last several years that many of the young American players who are exiting their ELCs want to move on and play closer to home and family. Matthew Tkachuk was never going to stick around in Calgary, that much was made certain even during their contract negotiations post-ELC and Auston Matthews rumours have been persistent since the day he was drafted. They have every right to do so but it’s something Canadian teams have to be wary about now.
Ottawa knew it was coming but still tried everything humanely possible to keep him around. When it was a full-on certainty that he was not going to return, they had to do their best in finding the right team and package. Andy Strickland reported that the Senators were very close to acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko but had to move on from DeBrincat first, so let’s see if that’s still a possibility for Ottawa, a team that is very much a dark-horse for a wild card spot again.
It seems for now that the DeBrincat-saga has finally come to a close and he should be much happier in Detroit around the likes of Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Moritz Seider, while also playing in his home-state of Michigan. DeBrincat even played his junior hockey close to home for the Erie Otters – only 4 hours away from Detroit – and then was drafted by the Blackhawks who were also only 4 hours away from his hometown.
Steve Yzerman got his man and at a fair price, while the Senators did the best they could in recouping lost assets for a player that wanted nothing to do with them. The Flyers in all of this dodged the proverbial bullet by balking at the trade offers in 2022 to begin with. Having Gauthier and Michkov is fantastic, being rid of Fletcher is even better, and finally having the stones to enter a rebuild after everything that had happened is the cherry on top – something that might not have happened had DeBrincat been acquired.
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