As the 2022 NHL Draft approaches, many eyes are on the Chicago Blackhawks with speculation running rampant over the future of young sniper Alex DeBrincat. It’s not often that a player has two 40-goal seasons under his belt by the time he’s 24, even rarer for that player to be available in trade. With the Blackhawks starting a scorched earth rebuild in Chicago though, DeBrincat could find his way out the door.
Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic believe that the Blackhawks would pull the trigger on a DeBrincat deal if they received the right offer, and suggest that could be a top-10 pick and a quality prospect. That may seem like a disappointing return to fans who are hoping for a franchise-altering haul for their young star.
- Sixty-six points in 59 regular season games, an OHL championship, and a Memorial Cup final. It was a pretty nice season for undrafted defenseman Nathan Staios even before the personal awards. He was named both OHL Most Outstanding Defenseman and CHL Defenseman of the Year, giving him a nice platform to negotiate from as he tries to turn pro. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes that the Florida Panthers have shown some interest in the 21-year-old, who is the son of former NHL defenseman Steve Staios.
- Not only does Rick Bowness have a two-year deal as the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, it includes a third-year option as well. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that it is a club option worth close to $3MM. Bowness, 67, is coming up on 40 years since he first stepped behind the bench with the Jets, joining the organization as an assistant in 1984 after his playing days ended there.
DeBrincat then Kane, just like dominoes!
Agreed. Get 3 1st rd draft picks and a promising younger player. I think NJ’s pick at #2 is a good start. Take that plus another one and two young players. Kane won’t want to stick around so have him wave his no trade and get two number one’s for him. The team will be shifty for two years but if Davidson knows how to pick then playoff bound 3 to 4 years from now. I may not be around to see it but UT sounds promising.
A top 10 draft pick, and quality prospect?
Not enough.
While I agree there hands are kinda tied cuz it’s well known they want him to go
They could NOT trade him, and, you know, actually build around a great, proven young player. Trade Kane, allow Toews his retirement tour (nobody is trading for him,) sign DeBrincat to a nice, big extension and make him the face of the franchise. If all goes well, he’s the captain of the next contending Blackhawks team.
Yeah. The aforementioned top ten pick and prospect are not REMOTELY what DeBrincat is worth — three first rounders is more like it — and the guy’s still young and would still be around when the rebuild is done.
How are their hands tied? They don’t have to trade him. 40 goal scorers at 24 yrs old don’t come around everyday and he’s done it twice. The guy’s a professional sniper. Deadly on the PP. If no one wants to deal then they’ll take their ball and go home. At first I thought they were nuts thinking about trading him but he has two years left on his contract (1 yr to restricted) and the Hawks will be garbage no matter what they do for these two years. Trade him and in three years, if you want, try to sign him as a FA.
Seems to me that a 24 year old 40 goal scorer is a good piece to rebuild with.
This type of move only makes sense if you’re planning an 8 year rebuild.
Flyers will give the #5 pick and Owen tippet for DeBrincat!! Then the flyer turn around and trade off JVR and/or Kevin Hayes. Flyers then spend that saved money on Johnny G. from Calgary and boom, very nice off-season.
If it were that easy to just ‘trade off’ one of those guys, it probably would have happened already. I think any assets used to acquire DeBrincat would be needed to dump one or both of those guys.
That return is disappointing for a couple reasons.
1) They got more for Hagel
2) they already shot down 2 1st rd picks, including a top 5. So this report sounds like it isn’t accurate.
Keep in mind that in the shortened COVID season he was unbelievably snakebitten and went full stretches where he couldn’t buy a goal. A player like this is a build around type of player, but if the Hawks are stupid enough to let him go, it can’t be for less than a minimum of 2 1sts, a proven young player, a higher end prospect and likely a lottery player or two or some combination of this. 3 1sts and 2 prospects something like this.
If they do trade Debrincat they better get more than a player and a draft pick. Otherwise it would be really stupid. If everyone is really lining up to get him there should be a substantial haul coming in a bidding war.
They should absolutely trade him if the right offer comes around. Why sign him to a massive contract when you’re trying to rebuild? Yes, he’s young, but if he helps you win games, he’s potentially costing you draft position. He’s also just one player. If you can move him for a high 1st round pick, a 1st in next year’s (much better) draft and a good prospect, you have a shot at landing three franchise players as opposed to having just the one.
This team is going to be bad next year, which could also adversely affect his stats and his value. If he drops down to a 25-30 goal scorer, are you still paying him 9 mil plus? I doubt he asks for less because of a down year, or are you trading him for less than he’s worth, with less term on his contract?
I know that’s a what-if scenario and sure, he could also go off for 50 goals next year. Someone has to score, after all. But if Kane gets moved and this team goes full rebuild as they seemingly want to do, I think it makes more sense to get a haul for Debrincat than to try and rebuild around him.
That said, it should absolutely take a HAUL. A good prospect and a top 10 pick isn’t nearly enough and we know at least one team has offered two 1sts, so I doubt Davidson deals him just to deal him. Hopefully something better shakes loose today or tomorrow at the draft.