The Ottawa Senators are trying to trade forward Alex DeBrincat after the pending restricted free agent said he does not want to sign a long-term contract with them.
“Right now we are talking to teams about possibly moving him,” Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion said Tuesday. “He hasn’t asked for a trade, but it seems that we have to do what’s best for the organization. And if he is not willing to sign a long-term contract with us, I think it’s our duty to do what’s best for us.”
DeBrincat was traded to the Senators by the Chicago Blackhawks on July 7, 2022, the day of the 2022 NHL Draft. The Senators sent their first- and second-round picks in the 2022 draft and a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft to Chicago for the 25-year-old forward.
When asked on the day of trade about signing long term with Ottawa, DeBrincat said he needed time.
“I think we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I don’t really have an answer for you right now. It’s been a whirlwind couple of days. I’ll start to think about that a little bit later.”
Ottawa currently doesn’t have a pick in the first three rounds of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, which begins with the first round at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS). Rounds 2-7 are Thursday (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS).
DeBrincat had 27 goals and 66 points this season, each ranking fourth on the Senators. It was the final season of a three-year, $19.2 million contract (average annual value $6.4 million), he signed Oct. 3, 2019, with Chicago. He has 373 points (187 goals, 186 assists) in 450 NHL games.
He’s been eligible to sign a new contract with Ottawa since July 13 and can become a restricted free agent July 1.
“We liked Alex when we traded for him, and pretty much from training camp last year we approached their camp about signing an extension,” Dorion said. “They wanted to see how Ottawa was. At the end of the year, their camp indicated to us that free agency would only come once, probably for Alex in his career, and they weren’t ready to sign long term with us.”
The Senators traded for DeBrincat in the hopes of forming a core of young, talented players, including captain Brady Tkachuk, 23, forward Tim Stutzle, 21, and defenseman Thomas Chabot, 26. They made strides this season (39-35-8), but finished six points behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
They have not made the playoffs since losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.
Still, Dorion said he wants coach D.J. Smith and his staff back for the 2023-24 season.
“D.J. has the respect of our players, he works really hard, and he is an excellent communicator,” Dorion said. “We can count on one hand how many games our team did not show up this year. Our work ethic has always been good.”
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