Player Discussion Alex DeBrincat

[Larionov]

Had a crazy dream last night that I got invited to participate in these skates the local pros are doing.

I was on a line with Debrincat and Pinto and we had some pretty good things happening.... pretty, pretty good.

I believe that. ;-)

Seriously, anyone who has ever played will tell you that being with highly skilled players who see the game well is amazing - the puck just finds your stick when you weren't even expecting it. They know you're open before you do...

 

[Silencio]

Pretty honest (and frankly, refreshingly so) for DeBrincat to tell the fan that wasn't thrilled about coming to Ottawa at first.

 

[Pancakes Pancakes]

Pretty honest (and frankly, refreshingly so) for DeBrincat to tell the fan that wasn't thrilled about coming to Ottawa at first.

He never said he wasn't thrilled, he said he was skeptical. Those are two very different things.

 

[Hale The Villain]

He never said he wasn't thrilled, he said he was skeptical. Those are two very different things.

That's a nice way of saying he initially wasn't happy about coming here.

Maybe that was before we signed Giroux and started looking like a playoff team though.

 

[JD1]

That's a nice way of saying he initially wasn't happy about coming here.

Maybe that was before we signed Giroux and started looking like a playoff team though.

That's pretty understandable though really. Guys want to play for a winner. In light of us getting Giroux then Talbot within days of the DeBrincat trade and Chicago going full tank, I suspect he's pretty ecstatic about being here now

 

[Hale The Villain]

That's pretty understandable though really. Guys want to play for a winner. In light of us getting Giroux then Talbot within days of the DeBrincat trade and Chicago going full tank, I suspect he's pretty ecstatic about being here now

I bet he's definitely happier being here for this year than Chicago, who look like bottom feeders.

Question is whether he'll want to be in Ottawa for the following 8 years or if he'd prefer to be elsewhere.

 

[JD1]

I bet he's definitely happier being here for this year than Chicago, who look like bottom feeders.

Question is whether he'll want to be in Ottawa for the following 8 years or if he'd prefer to be elsewhere.

Yup, that's the question. Hopefully a young core, many of which are Americans, a winning atmosphere, a full rink and a new downtown rink on the way does it

 

[Larionov]

I'd prefer this kind of honesty over the stream of @#$##$#$ we heard from Matt Duchene about wanting to stay here when he really didn't. Can't be really surprised - a 24 year old American gets traded to a non-playoff team in Canada - you can't reasonably expect that he will initially be thrilled. He would have likely felt the same going to almost any other Canadian team. The fact that the city and team have turned around his thinking this quickly is impressive.

Can we re-sign him? Does he decide that he wants to go back to the States? Entirely possible - one of the realities of free agency is that young millionaires tend to like to play in the land of year round golf. If we do have to trade him eventually, though, we will get back at least what we gave up for him and maybe more, so it was a low risk trade from that perspective.

 

[Pancakes Pancakes]

That's a nice way of saying he initially wasn't happy about coming here.

Maybe that was before we signed Giroux and started looking like a playoff team though.

I honestly took it as more of a "Let me see about this and do my homework" since the Sens track record over the last several years it spotty at best (obviously). I didn't view as negative as some, probably the same way any player traded to Ottawa would have felt in the not so distant past, but the tides appear to have turned.

 

[JungleBeat]

I'd prefer this kind of honesty over the stream of @#$##$#$ we heard from Matt Duchene about wanting to stay here when he really didn't. Can't be really surprised - a 24 year old American gets traded to a non-playoff team in Canada - you can't reasonably expect that he will initially be thrilled. He would have likely felt the same going to almost any other Canadian team. The fact that the city and team have turned around his thinking this quickly is impressive.

Can we re-sign him? Does he decide that he wants to go back to the States? Entirely possible - one of the realities of free agency is that young millionaires tend to like to play in the land of year round golf. If we do have to trade him eventually, though, we will get back at least what we gave up for him and maybe more, so it was a low risk trade from that perspective.

Duchene went from one basement team to another. Can't blame him.

 

[swiftwin]

I'd prefer this kind of honesty over the stream of @#$##$#$ we heard from Matt Duchene about wanting to stay here when he really didn't. Can't be really surprised - a 24 year old American gets traded to a non-playoff team in Canada - you can't reasonably expect that he will initially be thrilled. He would have likely felt the same going to almost any other Canadian team. The fact that the city and team have turned around his thinking this quickly is impressive.

Can we re-sign him? Does he decide that he wants to go back to the States? Entirely possible - one of the realities of free agency is that young millionaires tend to like to play in the land of year round golf. If we do have to trade him eventually, though, we will get back at least what we gave up for him and maybe more, so it was a low risk trade from that perspective.

I think you're looking a bit too deeply into the "American" angle. He's from Michigan suburbia, which is not very different from Ottawa. There's also quite a few other Americans on the team, including another Michigan teammate who just signed for 8 years (Norris).

He was probably skeptical because it was the first time he was traded in his life (pro or juniors). Players will always tell you that the first time you get traded is always a shock and difficult to digest. Plus, obviously, the Sens haven't been competitive in recent years. I'm sure that once he sat down and looked at the team and talked to a few people, he recognized the direction of the team and the potential for something good here. If the team continues to trend in the right direction, I don't see why he wouldn't want to re-sign here.

The Duchene situation was the literal opposite, it was very clear that the team was on the downtrend and a rebuild was coming.

 

[Alex1234]

I think you're looking a bit too deeply into the "American" angle. He's from Michigan suburbia, which is not very different from Ottawa. There's also quite a few other Americans on the team, including another Michigan teammate who just signed for 8 years (Norris).

He was probably skeptical because it was the first time he was traded in his life (pro or juniors). Players will always tell you that the first time you get traded is always a shock and difficult to digest. Plus, obviously, the Sens haven't been competitive in recent years. I'm sure that once he sat down and looked at the team and talked to a few people, he recognized the direction of the team and the potential for something good here. If the team continues to trend in the right direction, I don't see why he wouldn't want to re-sign here.

The Duchene situation was the literal opposite, it was very clear that the team was on the downtrend and a rebuild was coming.

It wasn't clear at the time of the trade
PD thought he was the missing piece after the Conference finals
But after that yeah everything fell apart and it was obvious he wouldn't re-sign
But I cannot believe ADeBrincat still thinks CHI is not on the verge of collapsing with the scandal the fire sale and PKane probably wanting out
What a mess in Chicago rn lol

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Duchene went from one basement team to another. Can't blame him.

He may have been open to it originally, but by the time we were allowed to negotiate with him the team was a hot mess and obviously headed down a dark path. Don't know how anyone could condemn him or Stone for not signing up to waste the rest of their effective years.

 

[Norris4Norris]

If we need to sign and trade him after a year we might get a lot in return (See Calgary). Otherwise he signs here and it's golden.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

He has a QO of 9 million that brings him to UFA after next year. His contract gives him a lot of power, which is one of the reasons why we were able to trade for one of the best goal scorers in the league for such a bargain.

Best case scenario is he performs well here, he enjoys the team and the city, and he signs a fair long term contract. The reality is he has a lot of bargaining power and we may need to overpay him, otherwise he can take the 1 year QO and go to free agency.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

He has a QO of 9 million that brings him to UFA after next year. His contract gives him a lot of power, which is one of the reasons why we were able to trade for one of the best goal scorers in the league for such a bargain.

Best case scenario is he performs well here, he enjoys the team and the city, and he signs a fair long term contract. The reality is he has a lot of bargaining power and we may need to overpay him, otherwise he can take the 1 year QO and go to free agency.

Well we were able to trade for him for a bargain because his team inexplicably did not want to re sign him. It’s clear he would have liked to stay in Chicago

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Well we were able to trade for him for a bargain because his team inexplicably did not want to re sign him. It’s clear he would have liked to stay in Chicago

I don't know how the trade negotiations went down, but as I mentioned above, DeBrincat has a lot of power with his contract. Maybe Chicago wasn't willing to re sign him because his ask was too much for a team looking to rebuild.

 

[Yak]

I think we need to see how he fits in and then check-in with his agent mid-season and go from their.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I don't know how the trade negotiations went down, but as I mentioned above, DeBrincat has a lot of power with his contract. Maybe Chicago wasn't willing to re sign him because his ask was too much for a team looking to rebuild.

He doesn’t really have that much power to be honest. He has about as much as anyone else who is in their last contract before UFA.

The QO isn’t really an issue for us because we’ll never get to it. By the time we would have to offer his QO, we will have either signed him to a long term deal, quite possibly less for longer, or he will have been traded and his QO is another team’s problem.

We won’t likely go into his final year without an extension signed a la Stone and Duchene.

 

[Larionov]

He doesn’t really have that much power to be honest. He has about as much as anyone else who is in their last contract before UFA.

The QO isn’t really an issue for us because we’ll never get to it. By the time we would have to offer his QO, we will have either signed him to a long term deal, quite possibly less for longer, or he will have been traded and his QO is another team’s problem.

We won’t likely go into his final year without an extension signed a la Stone and Duchene.

No doubt about that - having been down that painful road once, unlikely that GMPD wants to ever be there again. Calgary showed how it is done this summer - move the guy quickly and decisively before you end up where we were with Stone. God, that was painful.

I'm fully prepared for the fact that DeBrincat might be a one year rental, but if he has a good year we can move him for more than we paid, taking advantage of a rookie GM in Chicago who made a panic trade. If ever there was a year to trade a 7th overall, it was in a weak draft year like this past one was...

 

[Bevans]

He has a QO of 9 million that brings him to UFA after next year. His contract gives him a lot of power, which is one of the reasons why we were able to trade for one of the best goal scorers in the league for such a bargain.

Best case scenario is he performs well here, he enjoys the team and the city, and he signs a fair long term contract. The reality is he has a lot of bargaining power and we may need to overpay him, otherwise he can take the 1 year QO and go to free agency.

Didn't seem to hurt Tkachuk's trade value.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I don't know how the trade negotiations went down, but as I mentioned above, DeBrincat has a lot of power with his contract. Maybe Chicago wasn't willing to re sign him because his ask was too much for a team looking to rebuild.

Should probably keep the 24 year old
Superstar who wants to stay to build around and pay him what he deserves. But I’m not their GM. I think they made a mistake

 

[Larionov]

He may have been open to it originally, but by the time we were allowed to negotiate with him the team was a hot mess and obviously headed down a dark path. Don't know how anyone could condemn him or Stone for not signing up to waste the rest of their effective years.

All true - I'm just critical of Duchene for making it sound like he wanted to re-sign here right up until the trade, when the truth was that he had no intention of doing so. Conversely, I believe that Stone would have signed had we offered him market value the way Vegas did, but we never even came close. Stone's agent knew the market - why should he sign for less than full value when he was months away from being a UFA?

Now that, err, the clouds have lifted around this franchise, I'm not concerned about our desire or ability to make a fair offer to DeBrincat. The questions are a) does he see himself here long term and b) can we fit him into our salary structure going forward. With Jimmy and Sanderson to eventually pay, we may well decide that we need to turn DeBrincat into a first and a top prospect in order to refill the pipeline with quality players on entry level deals...

 

[Alex1234]

All true - I'm just critical of Duchene for making it sound like he wanted to re-sign here right up until the trade, when the truth was that he had no intention of doing so. Conversely, I believe that Stone would have signed had we offered him market value the way Vegas did, but we never even came close. Stone's agent knew the market - why should he sign for less than full value when he was months away from being a UFA?

Now that, err, the clouds have lifted around this franchise, I'm not concerned about our desire or ability to make a fair offer to DeBrincat. The questions are a) does he see himself here long term and b) can we fit him into our salary structure going forward. With Jimmy and Sanderson to eventually pay, we may well decide that we need to turn DeBrincat into a first and a top prospect in order to refill the pipeline with quality players on entry level deals...

All true
Problem is ,and will have to be addressed by the league sooner or later, is that Stone 9.5 in Vegas means 11-12 in Ottawa all taxes accounted for.

Same for DeBrincat when due

Add the weather, golf courses etc and you know it is difficult to retain stars

If Debrincat doesn't re-sign I don't know if we can look into 2024 Ufas like Tarasenko (probably not)or Pasta (probably not)

 

[bert]

Yup, that's the question. Hopefully a young core, many of which are Americans, a winning atmosphere, a full rink and a new downtown rink on the way does it

At the time of the deal I was skeptical he would sign here long term. However after listening to this interview(s) on Spitting Chicklets and Wally and Methot, I think there is a real chance he signs an extension. Assuming they pay him what he is worth; he wont be giving a discount nor should he. He loves hockey and wants to win that was apparent so if the sens have success he likely sees a core around his age locked up long term. He is used to the cold he grew up in Michigan. He doesnt drink so nightlife likely isn't very important. They have a young child and sounds like they plan for more he seems to be a family man. Ottawa is a great place to raise a family and his mom is from Toronto so he has some Canadian blood in him.