The price to acquire Hawks' Debrincat revealed
The Hawks made it known that they are looking to move 40-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat as they pivot towards a rebuild. To some, it is strange that a team rebuilding would move a 24 year-old star winger, but it does make some sense. If they are set to embark upon a rebuild, it would mean that they will likely be 5-7 years away from contending at minimum.
The Blackhawks will be entering the rebuild with limited high-end prospects, and they need to maximize the assets they acquire. No better way to do that than to deal one of your best young players for a boatload of draft capital and futures. Especially one who would otherwise be pushing 30 by the time the Hawks are back in the playoffs. Not to mention, DeBrincat is in the final year of his current contract and will be looking for a massive extension, something that the Hawks may not want to hand out if they are going to be struggling the next 5-7 years as they rebuild through the draft and wait for their prospects to develop.
According to Hawks reporter Charlie Roumeliotis, the price on DeBrincat is rumoured to be similar to the Brandon Hagel deal - two first round picks and two young players. Now, obviously Hagel and DeBrincat are not equals. The deal will differ in that one of those 1st round picks will be a high pick this year and one of those young players will likely be an A level prospect.
Two teams that have those assets and who could look to make a splash with DeBrincat are the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators. They have the second and seventh overall picks in this year's draft, respectively, and have quality prospect pools to deal from as well.
Four pieces is not an uncommon ask for a player as highly skilled as DeBrincat and, quite frankly, players of his caliber and in his age range don't come along very often, so not only do I think the Hawks could get that sort of a package, but there could end up being a bidding war for DeBrincat's services which could yield a better return than anticipated.
If the Hawks want to add a 1st round pick in this year's draft, they'll have to strike a deal in less than one month, as the NHL draft is set to take place on July 7th and 8th.
| POLL | ||
9 JUIN | 283 ANSWERS The price to acquire Hawks' Debrincat revealed Where will Alex DeBrincat play next season? | ||
| He'll stay in Chicago | 104 | 36.7 % |
| He'll be traded to Ottawa | 41 | 14.5 % |
| He'll be traded to New Jersey | 46 | 16.3 % |
| Other | 92 | 32.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
