The Detroit Red Wings are dealing with captain Dylan Larkin's trade request, but there's another star forward whose future is up in the air. Will the Red Wings sign DeBrincat to a contract extension, or will he follow Larkin out the door?
The Detroit Red Wings are going through arguably the most frustrating stretch in the modern-day history of the franchise.
With a general manager vacancy and the captain Dylan Larkin requesting a trade earlier this summer, there is a ton of work to be done in Motown.
While the focus is currently on their GM search to replace Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings still have other things to deal with. The biggest issue could center around another Detroit star forward, Alex DeBrincat.
DeBrincat led the Red Wings last season with 41 goals and 85 points in 82 games, setting career-highs in assists (44) and points. At 28 years old, DeBrincat is in his prime, and he’s been well worth his $7.8-million annual salary.
Unfortunately for the Detroit faithful, DeBrincat is entering the final season of his contract. Is DeBrincat going to see Larkin traded and decide he wants out as well?
DeBrincat could be just as important than Larkin is, if not more important. If his next contract is to his liking, and Red Wings management decides on a retool rather than a full rebuild, will that be enough to satisfy his competitive ambitions? Or does he look at the road ahead and decide he has a better chance at a Stanley Cup championship elsewhere?
Detroit has promising prospects Carter Bear and Axel Sandin-Pelikka, and they’ve also got established young stars like winger Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. This team is not bereft of talent to build around.
However, there’s a reason players decide to engineer a trade out of a team that’s in the midst of at least a significant retool: they don’t see a way to succeed.
Larkin has already arrived at that conclusion, and that choice could set in motion a trade request from DeBrincat. There's also the potential that DeBrincat declines to sign a contract extension, and force the next GM to gamble on him not leaving as a UFA next summer.
Just imagine the blowback that would happen in Detroit if DeBrincat left for zero assets in return. People would rightfully be losing their cool.
The Red Wings could get a terrific trade package for the winger. They’d be taking a step backward by trading him, but the Red Wings are more or less the epitome of a ‘Mushy Middle’ team – not bad enough to get a top spot at the top of the NHL draft, and not good enough to make the playoffs.
The mid-tier is somewhere the Red Wings should avoid at all costs, and that’s what they must address as they move forward in the post-Yzerman era. Regardless of the direction they take, something needs to be done.
If the new GM decides to kick the can down the road in terms of getting the Red Wings into the playoffs, trading DeBrincat makes sense. If the offers aren't as enticing as they hoped, they could keep DeBrincat and make him one of the biggest prizes at next year’s trade deadline.
That would take patience, but that’s something Detroit needs more of as they focus on the future.
If DeBrincat signs an extension, we’ll know a soft retool is what’s in store. If they trade him, we’ll know this is a longer-term reclamation projection. Either way, DeBrincat is going to be paid handsomely, and all that matters is whether he gets that raise in Detroit, or whether the raise comes in a new market.
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