Last night, the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings came into agreement on a blockbuster trade sending star-studded young forward Alex DeBrincat to Detroit in exchange for Dominik Kubalik, Donovan Sebrango, and two draft picks, including a first round selection in next year's draft.
DeBrincat had no interest in returning with the Senators next season after turning down an 8-year, $8 million AAV extension offer, so a trade was completed to meet the requests. However, one other Eastern Conference was all in on DeBrincat and their trade offer that was ultimately turned down by the Sens has been reported.
The New York Islanders had an interest in acquiring DeBrincat as well to boost their offensive core after recently falling down the standings the last couple of seasons. With him being a previous 40-goal scorer in his career so far, DeBrincat would have assumed a majority role in the Islanders top-six group. Unfortunately, the offer they put together was not able to get the job done with Ottawa, as the Sens ultimately decided to go with Detroit.
Putting the offer that was accepted and the one that was rejected side-by-side, it's pretty hard to tell the factor that ultimately made Ottawa go one way over another. Both teams offered up solid, contributing forwards in Pageau, Wahlstrom, and Kubalik, and it is safe to assume that the Islanders included draft picks in their offer as well to entice the Senators. Although, the Red Wings did offer the 2024 first rounder, which may have been the decider between the two.
It is always fun to imagine what different players would look like with other teams, including DeBrincat going to New York with the Islanders. But now that the deal is done and he is off the board, it looks to be time for the Isles to go back to the drawing board to think of a backup option of upgrade.
