Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 8:11pm

DEBRINCAT TO DETROIT!

The Detroit Red Wings acquired winger Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators for winger Dominik Kubalik, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round draft pick in 2024 and a fourth-round draft pick in 2024.

What does it give the Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings are getting the best player in this deal by a wide margin. Add in the fact they got DeBrincat to sign for four years at a lower cap hit and this deal is a huge win for Detroit GM Steve Yzerman. Expect DeBrincat to play on the top line as Dylan Larkin's new left-winger and produce more goals and points than he did during the 2022-2023 season for the Senators. This greatly increases the Red Wings chances of making the playoffs in the very competitive Atlantic Division.

What does it give the Ottawa Senators
DeBrincat was not going to re-sign after the 2023-2024 season, and he gave Ottawa a very short list of teams he would sign with. However, this return still feels very underwhelming after they traded the seventh pick in the 2022 draft as part of the deal to acquire him last off-season. The first-round pick in this deal has many conditions: Detroit has the option to send either their own or Boston's first in 2024, unless the Bruins pick is in the top 10. Then it is a choice between Detroit's '24 first or Boston's '25 first.

Fantasy impact
Have DeBrincat high on your draft list! He is due for a bounce-back season. He should have more offensive opportunities in Detroit than he had in Ottawa, where he was always stuck behind Brady Tkachuk at even strength. Kubalik is more of a buyer beware option. He may get less power-play time and may not be able to match the 20 goals he scored in 2022-23. He is a shoot-first player who only scored seven less goals than DeBrincat last season. Sebrango is not fantasy relevant.