Player Discussion Alex DeBrincat

[Dionysus]

He had a real down season in 19-20, 18 goals, 45 points in 70 games. Appears to be having another. Hasn't really been able to find a goal scoring groove. Misses the net, gets robbed and the confidence goes down.

Maybe a chance to buy low and get him signed at a reasonable price this off season. Hope for a nice bounce back next season and beyond.

 

[swiftwin]

He had a real down season in 19-20, 18 goals, 45 points in 70 games. Appears to be having another. Hasn't really been able to find a goal scoring groove. Misses the net, gets robbed and the confidence goes down.

Maybe a chance to buy low and get him signed at a reasonable price this off season. Hope for a nice bounce back next season and beyond.

Yep. Could be a blessing in disguise.

 

[GCK]

Uh huh…

You’re throwing quite the tantrum today, trade everyone! Fire everyone!

Take a breath, gets some fresh air, then try your math again. He fits just fine.

Lol at tantrum. Replacing Chabot with a cheaper RD gives us a balanced top 4. 8M is too much cap to allocate to our 3rd best D and Debrincat at 8M is too much for a 2nd line LW. It’s just not good allocation of dollars in a hard cap league.

 

[Dionysus]

Yep. Could be a blessing in disguise.

Wish he buried that open look in the last 10 seconds tonight though! Damn he can't place the puck in the right spot at all right now.

 

[Ice-Tray]

He had a real down season in 19-20, 18 goals, 45 points in 70 games. Appears to be having another. Hasn't really been able to find a goal scoring groove. Misses the net, gets robbed and the confidence goes down.

Maybe a chance to buy low and get him signed at a reasonable price this off season. Hope for a nice bounce back next season and beyond.

I think this is a great point, to go along with no chance he is getting more than Brady or Timmy. So it comes down to how much he wants to stay, versus how much he thinks he can get elsewhere.

If it fits and he wants to stay you sign him because while he is missing a ton of glorious chances, we know he is capable of bagging them.

This could very well be a buy low moment, versus the chance that this is the year that he fell off a cliff for good.

 

[GCK]

I think this is a great point, to go along with no chance he is getting more than Brady or Timmy. So it comes down to how much he wants to stay, versus how much he thinks he can get elsewhere.

If it fits and he wants to stay you sign him because while he is missing a ton of glorious chances, we know he is capable of bagging them.

This could very well be a buy low moment, versus the chance that this is the year that he fell off a cliff for good.

If you can buy low at 7M then it might be worth it.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Lol at tantrum. Replacing Chabot with a cheaper RD gives us a balanced top 4. 8M is too much cap to allocate to our 3rd best D.

I heard you man, I did.

I think it’s dumb, I think you making a huge hole again on D with the solution of just “signing a cheaper RD” as not only laughably unrealistic, but also puts us right back into the spot we have been for years.

We have a nicely Balanced D. We have three top line LD’s who look like they all would pair nicely with a much cheaper defensive RD.

The smart money would be to ADD this easy “cheaper RD” and partner him with one of the star LD’s. Then we’d have a contenders D.

 

[coladin]

I think the big problem, is Cat is a guy who needs an elite player with him to set him up perfectly. And it's very, very difficult to do that successfully and win in a cap league.

Add in the qualifying cost (or open market cost) and he just doesn't fit.

If we're trying to build a good 3-line team that plays a heavy game, we can't afford to spend so much on him. Even with the cap going up. We need those dollars. And we also don't know 100% how Norris will be after surgery and how durable that shoulder will be from here on out. Or if Chabot will rebound (likely with a new coach). We can't spend all our cap space on a finicky scoring winger.

Cat would be better served on a run and gun team that wants to power load one line. But that also is tricky to find, as you have to wonder if teams around the league still see him as a 40+ goal top line piece.

So many excuses. Once he gets the puck o his stick, whomever gives him the puck, elite or not, he has to perform. And he has failed miserably. Miserably.

 

[Ice-Tray]

If you can buy low at 7M then it might be worth it.

Gotta be realistic, it would be closer to 8 for sure.

So many excuses. Once he gets the puck o his stick, whomever gives him the puck, elite or not, he has to perform. And he has failed miserably. Miserably.

Agreed, but he’s shown the scoring touch enough in his career to know he has it.

This is an opportunity, not sure giving up at his low is the smart play.

Lots going on in the guys life, might be as simple as that.

 

[coladin]

Gotta be realistic, it would be closer to 8 for sure.



Agreed, but he’s shown the scoring touch enough in his career to know he has it.

This is an opportunity, not sure giving up at his low is the smart play.

Lots going on in the guys life, might be as simple as that.

I have seen 5 or 6 DeBrincat goals this years. Those that we have seen on his highlight reels. It has just gone away. I think the type of guy he is, a character guy, he knows he is costing games. He said it in November. Hoping next year he can regroup.

 

[robsenz]

Right now, he's the most talented passenger this team has ever had. I liked the effort late in the game when he tried to drive the net but outside out that, his game is too predictable and he's killing plays, Hope its a one off season, get this guy a new psychologist. Can't pay him top dollar, doesn't make sense.

 

[Mingus Dew]

A few weeks ago I said something like 8x$7.5 is a win for this team if we can make it happen.

Not anymore. This dude is a bum. Constantly pouting out there and dogging it. He remains decently engaged defensively but he just looks so done with this team.

I don’t want to hear this play him with better linemates stuff. He has multiple excellent looks every game and finds a way to kill the play or botch the execution.

Trade didn’t work out for us. Honestly a blessing in disguise that he didn’t come with an extension in place. Take the L, get what assets you can and move on.

 

[GCK]

A few weeks ago I said something like 8x$7.5 is a win for this team if we can make it happen.

Not anymore. This dude is a bum. Constantly pouting out there and dogging it. He remains decently engaged defensively but he just looks so done with this team.

I don’t want to hear this play him with better linemates stuff. He has multiple excellent looks every game and finds a way to kill the play or botch the execution.

Trade didn’t work out for us. Honestly a blessing in disguise that he didn’t come with an extension in place. Take the L, get what assets you can and move on.

He’s not a bum and I disagree that he is pouting. Having said that he is our version of Tavares in that he is a luxury that prevents us from adding the proper pieces to have a balanced roster.

 

[Mingus Dew]

He’s not a bum and I disagree that he is pouting. Having said that he is our version of Tavares in that he is a luxury that prevents us from adding the proper pieces to have a balanced roster.

He looks depressed out there when I watch him. Could be my own biases of course I’m willing to admit that.

Regardless this is going to play out just like Bobby. Trade for a guy that doesn’t look as good as he did on his former team and then double-down on a bloated long term deal to avoid admitting your mistake.

 

[GCK]

He looks depressed out there when I watch him. Could be my own biases of course I’m willing to admit that.

Regardless this is going to play out just like Bobby. Trade for a guy that doesn’t look as good as he did on his former team and then double-down on a bloated long term deal to avoid admitting your mistake.

The big difference between this and Ryan is that it’s likely to be a new GM making the call and not the GM who made the trade.

 

[Micklebot]

So... In between periods they did a Yay or nay with Garrioch. When asked if the sens should extend DeBrincat, Garrioch said nay.

That's just about the biggest endorsement I can think of for re-signing him asap...

 

[Micklebot]

He’s not a bum and I disagree that he is pouting. Having said that he is our version of Tavares in that he is a luxury that prevents us from adding the proper pieces to have a balanced roster.

I think the luxury he offers is insolation post Giroux. Giroux will be 37 when his contract is ending, having DeBrincat at that point would be great (assuming his contract is fair).

Do we need Debrincat for the next two years, maybe not, but we don't have anybody in the system to replace both Giroux and DeBrincat after that. I guess Greig could fill in for one, but after that who do we have...

 

[GCK]

I think the luxury he offers is insolation post Giroux. Giroux will be 37 when his contract is ending, having DeBrincat at that point would be great (assuming his contract is fair).

Do we need Debrincat for the next two years, maybe not, but we don't have anybody in the system to replace both Giroux and DeBrincat after that. I guess Greig could fill in for one, but after that who do we have...

We will have Brady-Stu and Norris-Batherson. Adding complentary wingers is not that hard. Greig and Formenton or even an Ostapchuk as a puck hound/big body/defensive conscience type. My only thought regarding Debrincat is our bottom 6 and goaltending needs some immediate attention.

 

[Wondercarrot]

It is quite the dilemma.
I think the best argument is the Giroux one. We really dont have a replacement anywhere. We would either have to get one out of UFA or trade even more stuff.

I’m very back and forth on this. He’s obviously having a down year but at the same time I don’t see his shot as the weapon I thought it was before he got here. He can’t beat goalies clean on his own from anything more than mid range/dots, relies a lot on cross ice set ups etc. To me that caps his value - good player and I’d give him Fiala money but no more I think.

Of course I also agree if he goes somewhere else he probably puts up 40 next year lol

As said above, that money would also go a long way to addressing goaltending/bottom 6

 

[Spotlight]

I'm not trying to make this a coaching debate, but I think one thing that i've noticed when comparing his play (from video) throughout his career, he just doesn't seem to jive with the dump and chase style that DJ has the team playing.

When you look at plays that develop off the rush and where they have good and clear possession entering the zone, he looks way more comfortable and creates more and most of his 5v5 goals have come that way.

When you look at all other zone entries that go the dump and chase way (as wanted by DJ) when his line is on the ice the play usually dies because it ruins his flow, there isn't anyone on his line that can drive down to get the puck to get puck control in the zone and all you get is a broken play. For Timmy's line it's generally the same but they have more success driving down and retrieving the puck to get some sort of control in the zone. (but the dump and chase is still not great for them either and that's one of the reasons we're not doing as well this season on 5v5 scoring)

not trying to make this a coaching discussion, but just saying that it really is one of the reasons why he is personally struggling a bit more this year.

I'm sure he likes the guys and the team structure, the city and all of that, but he probably feels the play style being set out doesn't suit him the most or at the very least, he didn't have time to adjust his play style with the trade coming unexpectedly to him as he said.

 

[Micklebot]

We will have Brady-Stu and Norris-Batherson. Adding complentary wingers is not that hard. Greig and Formenton or even an Ostapchuk as a puck hound/big body/defensive conscience type. My only thought regarding Debrincat is our bottom 6 and goaltending needs some immediate attention.

Feels like when we went years trying to find a winger for Spezza.... Michalek, Greening, Buttler, we even tried Regin.

I'm not saying we absolutely need to keep DeBrincat, but I think he's less of a nice commodity and more of a solid piece of the puzzle as we go down the road. I also think we're being quick to discount a player in what could easily be a down year.

The wild part is people are saying his past production is just him getting fed by Kane, meanwhile there's a not insignificant portion of the fanbase saying Stützle will be the best offensive player in franchise history, so put two and two together maybe those two can find similar chemistry through both their primes.

Anyways, I guess it all comes down to cost for me, if he takes the Fiala contract, I'm ok with re-signing him.if he's looking for 8.5+ that's a non-starter for me.

 

[BondraTime]

He's a very good player.

He's not a very good player, for what he will cost and bring, for this Ottawa Senators.

 

[Six Assets]

would be a terrible move to sign him. no doubt. Fortunately the next ownership will clean house and the new management will have an easier time trading him rather than having to admit a mistake. Hard to watch him play and think he's worth anything more than 6M. I also think this is a bad fit for DBC but any team that pays him what he wants will regret it.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Fiala was coming off of an 85P season when he got 7.875M. DeBrincat is currently on pace for 68P.

Anything over 7-7.5M with what he's shown this year is an overpayment.

Agreed. I would break 7.5. I wouldn’t break Brady’s contract tho

 

[coladin]

It is quite the dilemma.
I think the best argument is the Giroux one. We really dont have a replacement anywhere. We would either have to get one out of UFA or trade even more stuff.

I’m very back and forth on this. He’s obviously having a down year but at the same time I don’t see his shot as the weapon I thought it was before he got here. He can’t beat goalies clean on his own from anything more than mid range/dots, relies a lot on cross ice set ups etc. To me that caps his value - good player and I’d give him Fiala money but no more I think.

Of course I also agree if he goes somewhere else he probably puts up 40 next year lol

As said above, that money would also go a long way to addressing goaltending/bottom 6

Look at a guy like Skinner in BUF. Almost run out of town...and he is back. I struggle with this friggin guy