Alex DeBrincat Officially Traded to Detroit: Did the Senators Get Enough?

DeBrincat forgoes plans to go to unrestricted free agency next summer for a chance to play at home.

It didn't drag on quite as long as the ownership saga, but it was getting there.

The Ottawa Senators have traded winger Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Dominik Kubalik, defence prospect Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick and a fourth rounder in 2024.

DeBrincat was a restricted free agent and, with unrestricted free agency looming next summer, didn't want to sign long-term unless a team really made it worth his while. 

Detroit did that, but not with the kind of long-term deal he wanted from everyone else. The Wings represented a chance for the Farmington Hills, Michigan native to play at home.

What reportedly held up the deal was GM Steve Yzerman's refusal to give DeBrincat the kind of term and money that captain Dylan Larkin has (8 years x $8.87 AAV). But in the end, a chance to play at home in Michigan trumped all.

With the book now closed on The Cat, or Motor City Kitty, there may be a few noses out of joint, but there are some solid assets in this deal.

Kubalik is a 27-year-old winger, a left shot who often played the right side on Detroit's power play. In 81 games last season, the 6-foot-2, 180 pound Czech had 20 goals and 45 points. 5 on 5, he had 12 goals, the same as DeBrincat.

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In 2019-20, Kubalik had 30 goals in 68 games and finished third in Calder Trophy balloting for NHL rookie of the year. He actually finished with more goals and points that season than DeBrincat, his Chicago teammate for three years until both were traded in 2022.

With just one year left on his contract at $2.5 million, Kubalik will be a UFA next summer. So there's a good chance he'll be traded again before March, probably wanting to test the 2024 UFA waters.

Sebrango is a 21 year old who was born in Ottawa but raised in Kingston. He was Team Canada's assistant captain at last year's World Junior Hockey Championships (the one in August).

Sebrango was selected in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft. After winning world junior gold, he played 39 games in the AHL and 23 games in the ECHL. 

Detroit already has a number of good defensive prospects in their system who were all selected higher in their drafts than Sebrango was in his. That includes Simon Edvinsson, William Wallinder, Antti Tuomisto and Albert Johansson. So Yzerman could afford deal a prospect from a position of strength.

The Senators also get a conditional first round draft pick. In all likelihood, they'll get either Detroit or Boston's first round pick next year, whichever one falls the later in the draft.

In the unlikely event that the Bruins' 2024 first-round selection is a top-10 pick, Boston will have the option of retaining the pick and transferring its 2025 unprotected first-round selection to Detroit. The Red Wings will then have the option of sending either that draft pick or their own first-round pick in 2024 to the Senators to complete this trade.

A mid-to-late first round pick is nice to have, but it's unlikely to help the Senators in their current window of opportunity.

But an intangible asset in the deal is all this cap space they were thinking of giving to DeBrincat. That money can now be used on what's left in free agency and it's possible UFA winger Vladimir Tarasenko might be an option.

If they can pull that off, the deal would effectively be DeBrincat (and DeBrincat's money) for Tarasenko, Kubalik, Sebrango and a first rounder. That would surely make Ottawa a better team in the short-term and provide a couple of pieces that might help in the future.

But if the Sens have no other changes coming this summer, then the deal through a short-term lens is basically DeBrincat for Kubalik straight up, and that's a short-term loss for the Sens.