Frank Seravalli was joined by Tyler Yaremchuk to discuss the future of Alex DeBrincat and the Ottawa Senators on the latest episode of Daily Faceoff Live.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Frank, this question came in from a Sens fan wondering if Ottawa gets a good offer by the deadline could they look to move Alex DeBrincat less than a year after acquiring him?
Frank Seravalli: I think they’d have to consider it and the reason for that is this. Take a look at their salary cap, Alex DeBrincat has played himself, probably not into the $9 million range. But certainly in the $8 million range, $8.5 million something in that neighborhood. The qualifying offer that he’s due of course is $9 million and the big question if you’re a Sens fan or casual observer is how many $8 million contracts can one team afford?
And that’s the big thing when you look at the guys that they’ve already locked up to massive contracts. You’ve got Brady Tkachuk at $8.2 million, Thomas Chabot at $8 million, Josh Norris at $8 million. These are all super expensive deals that are going to be huge parts of the cap moving forward. How many of those can you afford I think is the real question. Tim Stutzle at $8.35 million, that’s a ton.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah, that is a lot. Part two of the question would be, would they potentially gain back what they paid for him this summer?
Frank Seravalli: Impossible. Impossible because any team that would likely be trading for him even if you’re getting a first round pick in return it’s not going to be as high as the number seven overall pick that they gave up. Knowing that teams would have to sign him to that type of deal, that’s why the Chicago Blackhawks struck when they did last year and really ended up with a pretty good return for Alex DeBrincat which would also set the table for whatever Timo Meier gets for the San Jose Sharks. It’s going to be below whatever Alex DeBrincat returned for the Blackhawks.
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