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Jul 10, 2022·edited Jul 10, 2022

I love the DeBrincat acquisition for the Sens. I don't know a ton about the player, but there are some positive signs for a possible extension. In terms of off ice factors, he is from Eastern Michigan, so Ottawa is not so far from home for him. He just had a child and Ottawa is a pretty family-friendly city. The Sens dressing room in general is pretty tight with guys like Norris (another Michigan kid) and Brady that DeBrincat should get along well with. All that said, the keys will be on ice fit and of course the dollars and term on an extension. The fit is TBD, but there are good reasons to be optimistic about it (as mentioned in the article). The big contract will be a matter of the Sens getting their financial house in order. That comes down to clearing unfavorable deals (White done, Murray and Zaitsev to go), plus rebuilding their revenues by selling a lot more tickets and rebuilding relations with their community and national business partners.

Nice article Graeme. I always enjoy your work.

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I enjoyed this analysis. A few points, though.

Re: Murray. You mentioned yourself that we don't know what all the pieces were. You didn't mention that it was (in part) a swap of 7 for 16, not just "please take Murray and we'll give you our 7OA". Why the heck would they do that and then retain a big chunk of his salary? C'mon, I know you don't like him but you can't really think Dorion is that stupid.

Just a note re: DeBrincat's production. In 2020-2021 he scored 32 in 56 games. That's a 47 goal pace. Over the past 2 seasons he's produced at a 45 goal pace. If he does that one more time, I say he takes on near superstar status and the cost to resign goes boom. That's why if I'm him there's no way I sign an extension this summer.

You kinda pay lip service to the fact that if DeBrincat doesn't sign here long term, the "opportunity cost" the Sens gave up to get him *won't*, at least entirely. As mentioned above, unless he bombs with the Sens, his value next year could be even higher. Maybe they can't re-sign him. If that's the case, surely he'll be worth more than a top 10 pick. Perhaps if they waited until the 2024 trade deadline. Hopefully they don't pull another Mark Stone.

Even if I don't agree with everything, I like your work a lot when, like this article, it focuses on actual hockey matters. Here's hoping the negativity of the EM era is behind us.

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