Player Discussion Alex DeBrincat

[OD99]

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I would have preferred he said... I love this team and would love to be a part of the future. I'll leave the rest up to my agent.
He was so no committal in which way he is leaning.. I have heard it before and it did not end with the player staying.

I think statements that we will qualify him are premature. This is all Dorion trying to be OPTIMISTIC and not willing to accept he gave up a lot for a player here short term much like he did with Duchene.

I agree but DBC seems to be a very low key guy. Not sure I would expect him to say much more than he did as he barely says anything, ever.

Just a quiet, perhaps even introverted, person. That would actually be in our favour as the family may like that they are in a hockey mad market but can still be low key.

 

[Butchy Dakkar]

I might be in the minority (at least among those posting) but I really hope we don’t lose Cat. He had a down year. We might get a new coach. He’s a bona fide top line winger (even if we already have a couple). Sign him and let the GM and team find creative ways to fill out the roster and get other deals done.

You guys are nuts. Played with a rookie centre, has the heart of a lion, had a significantly down year shooting percentage wise. I hope we keep him, even if it's for 9mil.

You posted this while I was typing mine. I agree!

 

[Wallet Inspector]

You guys are letting Debrincat down year get to your heads. Let him play under a better coach and he'll thrive again.

 

[Micklebot]

You guys are letting Debrincat down year get to your heads. Let him play under a better coach and he'll thrive again.

he set a career high in assists, and did it playing mostly with a rookie center overslotted up the lineup. He's going to be fine.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

Down year or not, 9 mill is a lot!

What makes him deserve more than Stutzle and Brady?

Not to mention Sanderson will easily clear 8 mill too.

 

[Silencio]

If Garrioch says DeBrincat isn't signing in Ottawa, you can guarantee a long term extension is happening.

 

[OD99]

Let him go...big deal.

With the money saved, they can bring in a 2nd line winger who make 4-5-6M/year and we wouldn't notice a substantial difference; hell we might even get lucky and pickup a guy who has more potential...

Buh-Bye

There is so much wrong with the perception of DBC it is crazy.

Since he entered the league in 2017/18 he ranks, among ALL FORWARDS:

31st in total points
14th in goals

So no, we won't just find another player like him who produces the same for $4M.

 

[GCK]

There is so much wrong with the perception of DBC it is crazy.

Since he entered the league in 2017/18 he ranks, among ALL FORWARDS:

31st in total points
14th in goals

So no, we won't just find another player like him who produces the same for $4M.

We don’t need to match his production we need better depth so we can stop getting caved in on the road.

 

[DaveMatthew]

We don’t need to match his production we need better depth so we can stop getting caved in on the road.

For us to be a good team, we need to keep his production AND get better depth.

That's the challenge.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

I don't know, I don't get the feeling he's re-signing long-term.

 

[Larionov]

What we all think of DeBrincat as a player doesn't matter much. The reality is that he has shown zero interest in signing here long term. Look, even a blind squirrel can find a nut occasionally, and Garrioch is right on this one. Listen to all the guys talking at garbage bag day today about how much they love the guys in the room, the fans, their coach, and then listen to DeBrincat. You will then hear the Sesame Street song playing - "One of these things is not like the others..." All season, when interviewed he has never once said anything nice about the city, the fans, great bunch of guys in the room, etc. - none of that. That non-answer today confirmed it yet again - he really never wanted to leave Chicago, coming here wasn't his choice, and it's painfully obvious that he isn't looking to sign an extension here. The only way that happens is if we offer an absolutely massive overpayment on a max term deal, and even then I'm convinced that he would sign his qualifier and go to market in July 2024. That's his right as a player, and it's the risk we took when we acquired him without an extension in place.

This leaves us with two choices - we can qualify him and trade him at the deadline next year as a deluxe rental, or just rip the bandage off and move him at the draft. There's a chance that the return at next year's deadline is slightly better, but there's also a risk that he gets hurt, has another down year, etc., and we get even less, not to mention the distraction of having a guy around all year who has one foot out the door. I say move him at the draft, try to get a first and good prospect back, and use the savings to go into the free agent market to find someone who wants to be here...

 

[SquidNasty]

The vibes were off from day 1.

We acquired him and he said it was a total shock that he didn't see coming. Said he would wait until next summer to discuss a contract which is pretty standard stuff. For some reason everyone was convinced he'd want to sign an 8 year deal with us... never made sense to me because that was never the vibe I got.

Back in the fall I was thinking play out the last year on his deal then sign a 2-3 year extension. He'd still be hitting free agency at 27/28 years old a secure a decent bag. 3/4 seasons of an "elite forward" seems like reasonable value for the 7th overall pick. Not sure why this option is never discussed, either it's "trade him he's a bum" or "lock him up into his mid thirties" and no in between.

Garrioch: Alex DeBrincat has ‘no inclination’ of signing with Senators, could be moved at draft | TSN

Following the team’s end-of-season media availability, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Alex DeBrincat was non-committal when asked about a possible contract extension with the club. He added that general manager Pierre Dorion could look to trade the forward if a long-term extension is...

www.tsn.ca

It's kind of a clickbait headline. If you watch the actual interview he says it's "what he's feeling" based on DeBrincat's media availability from this morning. Also says there's a "slight chance" he's traded at the draft. TSN is reporting this as if it's a fact but it's just some opinion from an untrustworthy journalist. That's just modern journalism I guess.

I don't think he's signing long term either but it doesn't mean we have to dump him. His value is probably a late first right now because of the contract situation.

 

[swiftwin]

I agree but DBC seems to be a very low key guy. Not sure I would expect him to say much more than he did as he barely says anything, ever.

Just a quiet, perhaps even introverted, person. That would actually be in our favour as the family may like that they are in a hockey mad market but can still be low key.

Yup. I remember people saying the same thing when right after we traded for him and the team shared the video of him walking around meeting the coaches and managers. My impression is that he's just a shy introverted guy.

There's absolutely no reason he wouldn't sign here long term if we made him a fair offer. Playing coy and non-committal is standard operating procedure for RFAs. I remember everyone said the same thing about Brady when we were going through negotiations with him. Everyone thought he wanted a short term deal so he could bolt to St. Louis as soon as possible.

Also, DeBrincat just had a down year. Him and his agent are trying to re-coup some of the lost potential value from this down season.

 

[Silencio]

For those who haven’t, I recommend watching the full media availability with DeBrincat (as well as the other players). He’s very candid about the challenges of moving a young family with a baby to a different city and country, but also said his wife has made a ton of new friends in Ottawa. Mentions several times about how welcoming everyone has been, and how he got more comfortable with the team (both the system and his teammates) as the season progressed. Also said “I think we (the Sens) have a bright future.” I think when DeBrincat says he’s open to signing long term but wants some time to discuss it with his family first, he means exactly what he says and there’s no ulterior motive or anything like that.

 

[swiftwin]

For those who haven’t, I recommend watching the full media availability with DeBrincat (as well as the other players). He’s very candid about the challenges of moving a young family with a baby to a different city and country, but also said his wife has made a ton of new friends in Ottawa. Mentions several times about how welcoming everyone has been, and how he got more comfortable with the team (both the system and his teammates) as the season progressed. Also said “I think we (the Sens) have a bright future.” I think when DeBrincat says he’s open to signing long term but wants some time to discuss it with his family first, he means exactly what he says and there’s no ulterior motive or anything like that.

Yep. To me, that signals he doesn't want to take the QO and test free agency the following year.

He probably either wants to sign a long term contract with us now, or to be traded somewhere where he can get that long term contract now.

 

[Sens Vader]

Just make a good trade for him

 

[SlapJack]

What we all think of DeBrincat as a player doesn't matter much. The reality is that he has shown zero interest in signing here long term. Look, even a blind squirrel can find a nut occasionally, and Garrioch is right on this one. Listen to all the guys talking at garbage bag day today about how much they love the guys in the room, the fans, their coach, and then listen to DeBrincat. You will then hear the Sesame Street song playing - "One of these things is not like the others..." All season, when interviewed he has never once said anything nice about the city, the fans, great bunch of guys in the room, etc. - none of that. That non-answer today confirmed it yet again - he really never wanted to leave Chicago, coming here wasn't his choice, and it's painfully obvious that he isn't looking to sign an extension here. The only way that happens is if we offer an absolutely massive overpayment on a max term deal, and even then I'm convinced that he would sign his qualifier and go to market in July 2024. That's his right as a player, and it's the risk we took when we acquired him without an extension in place.

This leaves us with two choices - we can qualify him and trade him at the deadline next year as a deluxe rental, or just rip the bandage off and move him at the draft. There's a chance that the return at next year's deadline is slightly better, but there's also a risk that he gets hurt, has another down year, etc., and we get even less, not to mention the distraction of having a guy around all year who has one foot out the door. I say move him at the draft, try to get a first and good prospect back, and use the savings to go into the free agent market to find someone who wants to be here...

All I saw in this post was that Garrioch is right on this one and stopped reading. He knows absolutely nothing and is doing his usual clickbait bullshit. No offence btw I just really hate the guy lol

When it comes to contract negotiations, unless a player specifically asks for a trade or says flat out, no I'm not signing...we have no idea.

Almost every single wait for a contract to get signed has been a sky is falling panic, and then they get signed. Big old Bruce was deeply concerned about the Zub talks, then the guy signs the next day. Brady was for all intents and purposes GONE as far as a lot of people were concerned, there was no way he wanted to sign long term for a small market Canadian team. Norris I don't really recall correctly but there was concern we couldn't find a number that worked for a long term deal.

Yeah there's Formenton, but we all know why that didn't happen and it had nothing to do with the player wanting out. Stützle came from out of nowhere and was a wonderful surprise.

I do think there's a possibility DeBrincat might need to be moved, but won't listen to any of the hyperbole until that happens or he's signed. This is the contract that sets him up for life; where he plays and how much he gets for doing it. Of course he's giving it thought, EVERYBODY would.

Anyway, f*** Garrioch and every shit article he's going to write about this situation for the next few months (ugh). He has no inside knowledge and is about the equivalent of the random dudes posting here.

 

[BondraTime]

Well, why are you dismissing the fact that it might be possible to "steal" some hidden gems from the team trading for him.
I know we don't have a decent pro scouting department, but it's possible.

Of course it’s possible, that would be along the lines of getting Jack Drury, a very secondary young piece who looks to be a 4th line guy, who turns into a 15g-20a 3rd liner who is dependable defensively.

He’d be a great pickup if that’s what he turns into, but his value at the time of the trade(now) would be that of a secondary young piece who you can throw in the lineup for 65 games a year.

We can always steal hidden gems or have guys turn out better than expected with traded, a DBC trade is no different.

 

[GCK]

For us to be a good team, we need to keep his production AND get better depth.

That's the challenge.

Not really. I expect Norris to replace his production.

 

[SlapJack]

Not really. I expect Norris to replace his production.

Why replace something when you can have both

 

[Adrianopolous]

He's overrated AF anyways

 

[DaveMatthew]

What we all think of DeBrincat as a player doesn't matter much. The reality is that he has shown zero interest in signing here long term. Look, even a blind squirrel can find a nut occasionally, and Garrioch is right on this one. Listen to all the guys talking at garbage bag day today about how much they love the guys in the room, the fans, their coach, and then listen to DeBrincat. You will then hear the Sesame Street song playing - "One of these things is not like the others..." All season, when interviewed he has never once said anything nice about the city, the fans, great bunch of guys in the room, etc. - none of that. That non-answer today confirmed it yet again - he really never wanted to leave Chicago, coming here wasn't his choice, and it's painfully obvious that he isn't looking to sign an extension here. The only way that happens is if we offer an absolutely massive overpayment on a max term deal, and even then I'm convinced that he would sign his qualifier and go to market in July 2024. That's his right as a player, and it's the risk we took when we acquired him without an extension in place.

This leaves us with two choices - we can qualify him and trade him at the deadline next year as a deluxe rental, or just rip the bandage off and move him at the draft. There's a chance that the return at next year's deadline is slightly better, but there's also a risk that he gets hurt, has another down year, etc., and we get even less, not to mention the distraction of having a guy around all year who has one foot out the door. I say move him at the draft, try to get a first and good prospect back, and use the savings to go into the free agent market to find someone who wants to be here...

This sums it up.

Do I think Debrincat is 100% against signing here? Definitely not. I think he'd sign here if we made it worth his while.
Unfortunately, the number that would make it worth his while almost certainly doesn't make sense for this team.

And he's not taking a team-friendly deal to stay here.

So you're left with a diminutive winger, coming off a down season, who can, effectively, pick his destination. Not the best bargaining position.

 

[BondraTime]

Why replace something when you can have both

Because one will cost another 8.5 x 8, minimum, likely higher from the Sens, and there are serious holes in other areas of the team.

There is no way that DBC and his salary commands fit with this Sens roster. Zero.

 

[SlapJack]

Because one will cost another 8.5 x 8, minimum, likely higher from the Sens, and there are serious holes in other areas of the team.

There is no way that DBC and his salary commands fit with this Sens roster. Zero.

If he wants 8.5, bye bye. But I don't think that's the starting point, there is absolute potential to get him signed for less. Will it happen? No idea. It's definitely not zero chance

 

[Larionov]

Let's be clear - ADB is not signing for a dime less than 8 x 8, and he likely believes he can get more after a good season. It would probably cost us 8.5/9 x 8 to get him to even consider an extension. If that number doesn't make sense for Dorion, might as well rip off the bandage now...