The Ottawa Senators Are Reportedly Exploring A Trade Of Alex DeBrincat. Should The Blackhawks Bring Him Back?

Pretty big news out of the mess that is Ottawa. Ownership issues and Debrincat's hefty $9M qualifying offer required to bring him back for another year have the Sens reportedly shopping him around ahead of the draft. A pretty quick about face for Ottawa because it felt like at the time this was the right move for a team with good pieces. A young 40 goal-scorer might've pushed them towards a wild card spot. They paid a premium to get him. 

A fan favorite theoretically available at a much more discounted price that what the Blackhawks got for him last year. Should the Blackhawks pick up the phone?

No. No, they shouldn't. I felt the need to blog this because I have been tagged in a ton of tweets and received so many messages asking if the Hawks should look into him. Bowman would've already traded the #1 pick for him, but we are in a different era now. 

I was told by a source who has basically been wrong about almost everything he's ever told me privately about the Blackhawks that if Debrincat would've signed an 8x8 extension then the Blackhawks wouldn't have traded him. Hindsight is 20/20, but trading him was always the right move even though he is a great player. The Hawks needed assets and they also needed to remove 30-40 goals from the lineup to put themselves in a position to be bad enough to get to the top of the draft. The plan was executed to perfection thanks to some lottery luck. 

A year later I don't think there are many teams who would give Debrincat the 8x$10M he was supposedly seeking. That number is probably a lot closer to 8x8M now. However, as much as I love Debrincat, I don't think he really fits the mold of what the Blackhawks are building at the moment. Everything with this group is about speed and skating. Debrincat isn't a burner. He's also 5'7. While he doesn't play small per se, the Blackhawks can't have an entire top 6 of guys under 6ft and that is how they are trending now with Bedard, Reichel, Nazar, etc in the fold. Watching Vegas and Florida bully their way to the Final makes me want to have a little more roster balance in terms of the type of player. Anaheim is a great example of a team trying to skill their way to the playoffs and it hasn't worked. 

I also just don't want to commit big money long term to anyone right now. I believe in the direction right now and the types of players they're bringing in. Fast, smart, hyper competitive. Wait to find out what you have before you decide what you need. 

PS: I am trying to decide the best way to bring Blackhawks coverage this year. You guys seem to like the spaces. I think I want to do post-games of that which will be then be posted to both Youtube and a podcast feed. Let me know what you guys think and what you'd like to see. The team is fun again. It won't be a chore to talk about them for us fans anymore. 

Double PS: I really had fun doing the Mid Show yesterday. We had Jeff d Lowe, Spider, and Chef Donny all sitting in at times. It was great and that was always the vision for the Mid Show when we started it. Sirius XM with rotating people in. Subscribe if you can. New show tomorrow