According to Chris Johnston of the NorthStar Bets, the Ottawa Senators are prioritizing getting a final deal that would lead to Alex DeBrincat moving forward. In fact, the organization is pushing to get that deal done in the next two weeks, hoping to use the NHL Draft as a deadline.
With DeBrincat unwilling to sign a long-term extension in Ottawa, the Senators are looking to recover assets before the 40-goal scorer becomes an unrestricted free player next summer. They are working on a short list of player-submitted favorite destinations and have reportedly received “strong interest” from those teams.
He added, “Expect a push to get this done through the draft. The Sens currently feel DeBrincat’s market value and aren’t putting up guardrails around the required return—they’re open to a deal involving established players or future assets.”
If the Senators are open to any style of trade, that makes it easy to move a player, even if DeBrinc’s unqualified offer is a hurdle for some teams. There will be privileges unlocked for the introduction add but you may have to transfer funds to make it work. Others may look to keep the player and his current best assets because they have plenty of room to make a trade centered around the futures business.
DeBrincat will need to sign a deal with whatever team he acquires and it will be interesting to see if he’s ready to do so before the year his qualifying offer will allow is out. Right now, the Senators aren’t said to allow talks with DeBrincat or his agent, which means teams with interest won’t officially know he’s open to an extension when they trade on his behalf.
It is a difficult situation for all parties involved. On the one hand, the Senators want to be competitive, so they might flip their choices and expectations for a current asset. On the other hand, any team that’s going to give up a number of picks or players is likely to want to know that DeBrincat is more than just a short-term one-year acquisition.
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