The Detroit Red Wings have acquired winger Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for winger Dominik Kubalik, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick.
The Red Wings then signed DeBrincat to a four-year contract with a $7.875 million contract. DeBrincat, 25, was a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his three-year contract with a $6.4 million cap hit that he originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.
DeBrincat ranked fifth on Frank Seravalli’s most recent trade targets board that was released before the draft, and was third among the remaining players after Connor Hellebuyck and Elias Lindholm. It seemed a matter of when, not if, he was going to be dealt this offseason, and the Red Wings appeared to be the frontrunners for most of the summer.
DeBrincat had a down year in Ottawa in 2022-23 with 27 goals, 39 assists and 66 points in 82 games, a bit off from the 41-goal, 78-point season he had in 2021-22. He was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2016, and spent five seasons in Chicago before he was dealt to the Senators in 2022.
Kubalik, 27, had a bounce-back season in Detroit, with 20 goals, 25 assists and 45 points in 81 games in 2022-23, the first time he’s eclipsed 45 points since his rookie season in 2019-20. He was a seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2013, but started his pro career with five seasons in Europe before he signed with the Blackhawks in 2019 after they had acquired his rights. He spent three seasons in Chicago before the Blackhawks elected not to qualify him, and he signed with the Red Wings in free agency.
Sebrango, 21, is a defenseman prospect that the Red Wings drafted in the third round of the 2020 draft. He has yet to play an NHL game. He had four goals, three assists and seven points in 39 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL and one goal, 11 assists and 12 points in 23 games with the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL.
The conditions of the first-round pick depend on which of their two 2024 picks that they want to keep between their own and the Boston Bruins’. The Bruins, pick is top-10 protected and would turn into the Bruins' 2025 pick if it doesn't convey in 2024, so the Wings can then choose between that pick and their 2024 pick to the Senators.
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