As the Ottawa Senators mull their position as buyers or sellers heading into the NHL’s 2023 trade deadline, at least one thing remains crystal clear for GM Pierre Dorion and the future of his club: Alex DeBrincat isn’t going anywhere.
Speaking with the media Thursday, Dorion was emphatic in his discussion of the team’s decision to hold onto the pending restricted free agent through the rest of 2022-23.
“Alex DeBrincat’s not being traded. No chance,” Dorion said Thursday. “So, we’ll just see where it goes at the end of the year and if we sign a contract with him before then, we’ll see what happens. But he’s not getting traded.”
The Senators acquired DeBrincat — who’s twice topped the 40-goal plateau at 25 years old — from Chicago in the off-season, parting with three draft picks (the seventh-overall pick in 2022, a second-rounder in 2022, and a third-rounder in 2024) to bring in the young sniper.
DeBrincat’s currently playing out the final season of a three-year, $19.2-million deal signed with Chicago in 2019 — he’ll become an RFA after the deal expires.
Asked how the club assesses the young winger’s season to this point — the Farmington Hills, Mich., native has 18 goals and 44 points through 53 games so far — Dorion said they’ve been pleased with what they’ve seen.
“Really good,” he said. “People forget there’s an adjustment when you go to a new team. There’s adjustments. Alex has played with different centres all through this year. He works hard, he’s talented, he does the right things. We play a bit different than Chicago — they’re a more rush team, we do things a bit differently. But we’ve been very happy with how Alex has played overall, very happy.”
Earlier this month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the Senators’ intention to hold onto DeBrincat at the deadline, adding that there could be a possibility of a deal for Senators defenceman Nikita Zaitsev in the coming weeks.
How the Senators handle their deadline overall remains to be seen, Dorion said, as they’ve yet to decide whether they’ll enter March 3 as buyers or sellers. The club currently sits seven points out of a wild-card spot, with four teams sitting between them and a potential Eastern playoff berth.
“Right now, probably everyone is wondering are we a buyer or a seller — for us, let’s see where these next seven games take us,” Dorion said. “I think we have to decide. We have a plan in place for if we’re going to be a buyer and if we’re going to be a seller. We might be just standing pat, also. We made a lot of moves in the summer to prepare to play meaningful games.
“We could be a buyer at certain positions, a seller at certain positions. So, right now there’s a lot of balls in play.”
While the Senators’ overall deadline plan remains up in the air, Dorion did identify two other pending free agents who are likely to remain with the team past March 3: defenceman Travis Hamonic and forward Derrick Brassard.
“Travis is a really good leader,” the GM said of the former. “No matter what anyone says, I’ll tell you he has helped Jake Sanderson’s transition to the NHL — having a steady partner, having someone that talks to you, having someone that’s gone to war. So, do I see a future? For sure. He’s probably someone that we’re not going to move at the trade deadline.
“We want him here, and we’ll see at the end of the season where this path takes us.”
As for Brassard, who sits at 993 career games played, Dorion made clear the organization is planning for the 16-year vet to celebrate his milestone moment in a Sens jersey.
“Derrick Brassard will play his 1000th game with the Senators,” he said. “Unless there’s a trade that shocks us, I would put it at 99.9 per cent.”
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.