It comes from Seravalli reporting that the only offers the Senators are getting for DeBrincat include players like Zadina. He doesn't think the Senators will be able to get any immediate help/quality roster players in a deal.
Zadina is a completely useless player, no doubt, and half the teams in the league would have bought him out this summer. But that doesn't mean we won't end up having to take him.
There is a pretty well established track record of the Senators getting themselves into a zero-leverage position when trading their top players, and then taking a garbage pile in return.
Heatley -> Michalek, Cheechoo, 2nd round pick.
The Senators bought Cheechoo out after a year. The pick was used to rent Andy Sutton.
Spezza -> Alex Chiasson, Nick Paul, Alex Guptill, 2nd round pick.
Chiasson swapped for Sieloff. Guptill couldn't hang in the AHL. Pick used to move up and draft sex pest Gabriel Gagne.
Stone -> Oscar Lindberg, Erik Brannstrom, 2nd round pick.
Lindberg immediately bounced as a UFA. Brannstrom hasn't lived up to expectations. Pick used on Egor Sokolov.
Hoffman -> Mikkel Boedker, Julius Bergman, 6th round pick.
Boedker was useless. Bergman was an AHL scrub and was dumped in the Duchene deal. Pick used on Philippe Daoust.
The DeBrincat situation looks like it's heading down that sort of path. Just seems like all the insiders believe he's going to Detroit and they won't have to pay much to get him...
So don't be surprised if this ends up DeBrincat for Filip Zadina, Cross Hanas and a 2nd round pick.