Player Discussion Alex DeBrincat

[Micklebot]

It's obvious if you disregard the asking price.

What is the asking price?

 

[JD1]

Wouldn't be a mistake at all if you trade him for a better and cheaper player. If you trade him for a player who costs the same or more and isn't as good then that would be a mistake.

This is a captain obvious moment.

We'll trade what we have for better and cheaper.

DeBrincat will come down to what AAV he'll sign for

 

[JD1]

Also disingenuous to call this a “bad year” when he’s playing on a new team with completely new circumstances. He’s never put up 40 goals here. For all we know this is a normal year for him on the Sens.

Good player but he is not going to be worth whatever it takes to sign him. We need that money for other stuff.

I don't really agree with this.

On balance, you repeat the entire year and imo he pots quite a few more. He's a goal scorer with a proven record. They don't miss like he's missed this year. I think he'll bounce back. That said, I wouldn't sign him for more money than Stu or Tkachuk

 

[Micklebot]

Also disingenuous to call this a “bad year” when he’s playing on a new team with completely new circumstances. He’s never put up 40 goals here. For all we know this is a normal year for him on the Sens.

Good player but he is not going to be worth whatever it takes to sign him. We need that money for other stuff.

New team, learning a new system, trying to find chemistry with new linemates,

Speaking of linemates, he's been playing with a Rookie center who's had an up and down year himself.

Meanwhile, his sh% is the second lowest of his career, however his ixG/60 at 5v5 is a career high, as is his iHDCF/60 (by a significant margin). He's also creating about twice as many rebounds chances ( possibly because the initial shot isn't going in).

There are lots of signs that this can turn around, I'm not so much worried about the player. That said, there a valid arguments to be made about resource allocation, we need a goalie, we need to re-sign or replace Hamonic, and we need to re-sign or replace DeBrincat, but we probably can't afford to do all of those under the cap, I suspect we need to choose between DeBrincat and a goalie.

 

[coladin]

I guess I this better than the 100 whiffs . Nice goal, but too little too late

 

[coladin]

its obvious he should be signed

in a bad year he is putting up 66 points with no center

Bad year because he has been bad. Laughable that you blame the Center when the problem is his shooting %. And careless play

 

[Mingus Dew]

New team, learning a new system, trying to find chemistry with new linemates,

Speaking of linemates, he's been playing with a Rookie center who's had an up and down year himself.

Meanwhile, his sh% is the second lowest of his career, however his ixG/60 at 5v5 is a career high, as is his iHDCF/60 (by a significant margin). He's also creating about twice as many rebounds chances ( possibly because the initial shot isn't going in).

There are lots of signs that this can turn around, I'm not so much worried about the player. That said, there a valid arguments to be made about resource allocation, we need a goalie, we need to re-sign or replace Hamonic, and we need to re-sign or replace DeBrincat, but we probably can't afford to do all of those under the cap, I suspect we need to choose between DeBrincat and a goalie.

Yeah he's been getting a lot of looks and then wiffing on his attempts. I suppose that could just be down to bad luck but again I'm not willing to 100% buy the "down year" argument when I haven't seen what a normal year on this team looks like.

Agreed wholeheartedly on the resource allocation point.

I don't really agree with this.

On balance, you repeat the entire year and imo he pots quite a few more. He's a goal scorer with a proven record. They don't miss like he's missed this year. I think he'll bounce back. That said, I wouldn't sign him for more money than Stu or Tkachuk

We'll see I suppose. I think it's definitely possible that he bounces back but a lot of folks have it down as a certainty and I'm not on board with that.

Maybe the Bobby Ryan wound is still too fresh in my mind.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Yeah he's been getting a lot of looks and then wiffing on his attempts. I suppose that could just be down to bad luck but again I'm not willing to 100% buy the "down year" argument when I haven't seen what a normal year on this team looks like.

Agreed wholeheartedly on the resource allocation point.



We'll see I suppose. I think it's definitely possible that he bounces back but a lot of folks have it down as a certainty and I'm not on board with that.

Maybe the Bobby Ryan wound is still too fresh in my mind.

Wasn't Ryans hand crippled from all of the hand injuries?

Debrincat is a different player than Ryan

 

[BankStreetParade]

Guys like this rarely become available and when they do you lock them up long term and figure out the rest. If anyone doubts what he can produce, I'd love to see an argument for why he won't be significantly better next year playing with either of Norris or Stutzle and Batherson fully recovered from his ankle sprain. The minimum I would project for him next year is 35 goals and 75 points.

 

[Micklebot]

Maybe the Bobby Ryan wound is still too fresh in my mind.

Honestly I feel like Ryan was more injury related, he came in and almost immediately had a hernia if I recall, requiring surgery after attempting to play through it for a while,

Then there were all the broken fingers, which Ryan has talked a bit about how much those impacted his game.

Injuries can happen to anyone, I feel like Ryan's tenure may not have lived up to the hype had he stayed healthy but he would have been far less of a lightning rod for criticism.

You can look at how long it took Duchene to click when he arrived as a counterpoint, 49 pts in 68 his first season, pt per game after. He took a season in NSH to find his game too, though he's getting long in the tooth now.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Fair points all around. It's going to come down to price.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Guys like this rarely become available and when they do you lock them up long term and figure out the rest. If anyone doubts what he can produce, I'd love to see an argument for why he won't be significantly better next year playing with either of Norris or Stutzle and Batherson fully recovered from his ankle sprain. The minimum I would project for him next year is 35 goals and 75 points.

I think people are wary of the price tag that he would want

 

[Hale The Villain]

Terrible argument, but what you'd expect from Sens twitter.

When Norris is back DeBrincat won't even be on that spot on the top PP, unless Stutzle is pushed to PP2, which would be crazy.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Terrible argument, but what you'd expect from Sens twitter.

When Norris is back DeBrincat won't even be on that spot on the top PP, unless Stutzle is pushed to PP2, which would be crazy.

No one considering a trade is denying DeBrincat is a good player and would be a nice piece to have at the right price. 9M QO; 1 year from UFA; Affordability; Team construction; Current weaknesses are all factors .

EMO rules the day.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

You really think Dorion wants to go the Mark Stone route again?

I think Dorion is the eternal optimist that has trouble with the concept that players would like to play elesewhere.
Not saying DCat wants to play elsewhere.
If they cannot reach an agreement this summer for whatever reason and the state of flux with ownership being one, then I think Dorion will want to keep him based on what he gave up for him and how he feels about the player. Dorion will think he can resign him. Stone was a little different situation wrt to the rebuild status.

 

[Silencio]

Stone was a little different situation wrt to the rebuild status.

Good point, Stone was heading into his prime and being asked to stick around through a scorched earth rebuild, whereas DeBrincat would be part of a core that (on paper) is ready to make some serious playoff noise as early as next season.

 

[Larionov]

Qualifying DeBrincat and bringing him back under a one year deal, though, is the ultimate high wire act. If he suffers a serious injury during next season, he walks in summer 2024 and we get nothing.

I'll be honest - I have questions about how badly he wants to stay. His answers to media questions about the future this year had a definite Matt Duchene vibe to them. What I wanted to hear was, "Great city, great teammates, hopefully we can make it work long term because I'd like to be part of bringing a Cup here with these guys." Instead, we got a very non-committal, "I leave that stuff to my agent" kind of answer. He's an American born player who got traded here, and is now a year away from being able to call his shot on where to go. Players only get one shot to pick their location and sign that home run contract.

In order to keep him, I think you absolutely have to get him signed to an extension this Spring before the draft. If his camp won't seriously engage or makes unrealistic demands, then you know that he isn't serious about staying and it is time to move him. If it comes to that, it needs to be done quickly so that we can recoup some draft assets in time for this year's draft. We can't have a Stone 2.0 situation...

 

[SpezDispenser]

He's definitely a good player who has a very impressive core strength that allows him to win board battles a lot. A lot of his struggles are due to Norris not being there and Pinto struggling a bit, but this is a very good sniper/player.

I think you absolutely do what you have to do to get him signed. If you can get him at 8 X 8 at this point, you consider it a win and prepare for next season - which is the most important season is a LONG time for us.

 

[Silencio]

I'll be honest - I have questions about how badly he wants to stay. His answers to media questions about the future this year had a definite Matt Duchene vibe to them. What I wanted to hear was, "Great city, great teammates, hopefully we can make it work long term because I'd like to be part of bringing a Cup here with these guys." Instead, we got a very non-committal, "I leave that stuff to my agent" kind of answer. He's an American born player who got traded here, and is now a year away from being able to call his shot on where to go. Players only get one shot to pick their location and sign that home run contract.

I could be remembering wrong, but wasn't Duchene kind of the opposite i.e. he would always pretend he was seriously considering staying with whatever team he happened to be on ("Columbus is a great place, I could definitely see myself signing here", etc.) Bobby Ryan was giving the same kind of leave it to my agent blah blah boilerplate responses up to the day he signed his long term deal, so I don't necessarily take that as an indication DeBrincat wants to bolt.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Closing in on 25 goals and 60 points in a down season, yes please.

 

[coladin]

Qualifying DeBrincat and bringing him back under a one year deal, though, is the ultimate high wire act. If he suffers a serious injury during next season, he walks in summer 2024 and we get nothing.

I'll be honest - I have questions about how badly he wants to stay. His answers to media questions about the future this year had a definite Matt Duchene vibe to them. What I wanted to hear was, "Great city, great teammates, hopefully we can make it work long term because I'd like to be part of bringing a Cup here with these guys." Instead, we got a very non-committal, "I leave that stuff to my agent" kind of answer. He's an American born player who got traded here, and is now a year away from being able to call his shot on where to go. Players only get one shot to pick their location and sign that home run contract.

In order to keep him, I think you absolutely have to get him signed to an extension this Spring before the draft. If his camp won't seriously engage or makes unrealistic demands, then you know that he isn't serious about staying and it is time to move him. If it comes to that, it needs to be done quickly so that we can recoup some draft assets in time for this year's draft. We can't have a Stone 2.0 situation...

And Duchene was Canadian and he left for Nashville, what does him being American have to do with anything? This team is littered with many happy, ecstatic Americans who are KINGS here. DeBrincat in Chicago is still a nobody in comparison to the other 6 or 7 teams in that city. Hockey is a niche sport there, and will always be.

in Ottawa, he is a king, and maybe he is starting to adjust on what comes along with actually being a star, of the only big league team in town. They love, love love the attention, don't kid yourself. And they have all kinds of money, so the taxman gets thier cut, great, But Mark Stone was a god here, and he can wither away in Vegas with his new , leathered skin and no one will do a double take.

 

[Nova Stutzlia]

I (along with others, no doubt) would like to see him play with Timmy.
They could try Brady on RW if they're considering the "policeman affect".

 

[Union2017]

I (along with others, no doubt) would like to see him play with Timmy.
They could try Brady on RW if they're considering the "policeman affect".

Yessir, Although I like Giroux with Timmy, I am also not a huge fan of Bath with 18. So, yes, I wouldn't mind that line of 7 - 18 - 12 next year.

I wonder if Pierre can "dorion" him into signing an amazing value contract with us? He did a good job with Stu and Chuky. You never know.

 

[Nova Stutzlia]

I (along with others, no doubt) would like to see him play with Timmy.
They could try Brady on RW if they're considering the "policeman affect".

Probably should be "effect".

 

[Larionov]

And Duchene was Canadian and he left for Nashville, what does him being American have to do with anything? This team is littered with many happy, ecstatic Americans who are KINGS here. DeBrincat in Chicago is still a nobody in comparison to the other 6 or 7 teams in that city. Hockey is a niche sport there, and will always be.

in Ottawa, he is a king, and maybe he is starting to adjust on what comes along with actually being a star, of the only big league team in town. They love, love love the attention, don't kid yourself. And they have all kinds of money, so the taxman gets thier cut, great, But Mark Stone was a god here, and he can wither away in Vegas with his new , leathered skin and no one will do a double take.

Different American players have different reactions to playing here, no doubt. Heck, within the same family, you saw one Tkachuk brother pretty keen to leave a Canadian team, while his younger brother was happy to stay. Brady strikes me as a glass-half-full kind of guy who could find the positives out of living in Yellowknife, and I say that with admiration - those are the kind of people you want to be around in this world.

I base what I said about DeBrincat on some of his interviews. Unprompted, he always talks about the border, weather, etc. - he doesn't harp on it, but he does mention it. Am I reading too much into it? Maybe, but I also notice that he hasn't signed an extension either. How happy is his wife here? Happy wife, happy life, as they say - when guys leave Canada, a lot of the time it's because the wife wants to get home to the States. That was the case when Gaudreau wanted out of Calgary.

To me, the moment of truth comes between the end of the season and the draft - either they announce a DeBrincat extension in that time, or he's getting moved...