Postmedia hockey columnist Bruce Garrioch tweeted today that the Ottawa Senators would like to sign Alex DeBrincat to a long-term deal, but they aren’t sure if he wants to stay. For his part, DeBrincat has been non-committal but did tell Garrioch today that he’d let the Senators know his intentions before the draft. Garrioch added that it is believed that DeBrincat would like to see where the Senators ownership situation goes before signing any long-term contract extension.
It makes sense from DeBrincat’s perspective to take a wait and see approach. He has put himself in a position to take a $9MM qualifying offer from Ottawa and then cash in next summer with any team of his choosing. For him to sign right now would mean he would be committing himself for the near future without knowing who will be signing his cheques.
DeBrincat had a steady, but unspectacular first year in Ottawa. He had 27 goals and 39 assists in 82 games, but nearly half of his production came on the power play. DeBrincat managed only 36 even strength points, a sharp drop from the 50 even strength points he produced in his last season in Chicago. DeBrincat also didn’t have great possession numbers at five on five and seemed to struggle without the benefits of the man advantage.
While it is not unusual for a player to struggle in his first season with a new club, it must give the Ottawa Senators some reservations about committing to another $8MM player. The Senators already have Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle and Joshua Norris signed to contracts around that mark, with Jake Sanderson due an extension next summer. Adding a long term DeBrincat contract to the ledger could leave the Senators with precious little cap space to shore up their goaltending, or fix their bottom six, something general manager Pierre Dorion has talked about improving.
He doesn’t want to sign there, and I don’t blame him.
Gee his numbers dropped like a stone when he wasn’t playing with Patrick Kane. How could that be? He thinks he’s worth 9 million a year. News Flash, He’s not. Davidson saw that and bailed as soon as he could. He’s not signing there without seeing what some other sucker will offer him in FA, Which was always his plan.
I think for both parties, it’s better to let Big Cat leave. Too little room in the Sens cap, and I think Cat would like a new scene.
(shrugs) Why would he care whose signature’s on his checks? I can’t remember the last time I so much as noticed the signature on a paycheck. SOMEone is going to own the Senators, and that someone’s going to pay the bills. Team’s not going bankrupt any time soon.
@Nha Trang – Why would he care? If Team A offers him $X, but Team B offers $X + $1MM *and* Team B is built for success now, as opposed to Team A still trying to get there, then maybe the choice is easy for him. He probably had half a lifetime’s worth of losing in Chicago, and may not be satisfied with the Sens’ progress. Just remind him that he can’t horse around making a decision on his next destination, as Cap Cannibals are still around.
That’s caring with which organization to sign. That’s got nothing to do with who happens to own the Senators.
But yeah, you’re right on horsing around. I called it last summer: that there was a finite amount of cap space out there, that teams were spending to their limits like drunken sailors, and that it was a giant game of Musical Chairs — a number of guys like Evan Rodrigues and Sonny Milano shot themselves in the skates by holding out for offers that never came. One wonders whether players will have better sense this time out.
@Nha Trang – “One wonders whether players will have better sense this time out” – probably not, as there’s a new group that’ll no doubt show they don’t have the ability to learn from last year’s dumb guys. How many will forget the cap will only get another little bump again? They seem to be listening to A-Stew and others who keep insisting the NHL Pot-O-Gold is infinitely deep.
DeBrincat wants to play for Detroit.
I’ll take him on the Wings
They could sure use him, that’s for sure.