Growing up, Alex DeBrincat idolized Pavel Datsyuk. Red Wings memorabilia filled his family's Farmington Hills home, where the basement walls were adorned with newspaper clippings of the team's Stanley Cups. The family allegiance stemmed from DeBrincat's dad, a lifelong Michigander, and lasted until DeBrincat was drafted by the Blackhawks in 2016. Or was it put on hold?
Now that DeBrincat is coming home, he said his parents (and his brother and his fiancé, a Clarkston native herself) are "definitely happy to go back to their roots and root for the team they’ve always rooted for."
Between Chicago and Detroit, DeBrincat made a stop in Ottawa. When he decided this offseason that he wasn't going to sign with the Senators into the future, the club asked him for a list of preferred trade destinations. It should come as little surprise that the Red Wings, a team on the rise under franchise icon Steve Yzerman, led the way. After weeks of speculation, DeBrincat to Detroit became a reality last Sunday night.
"It was quite a long process I feel like, but I was asked to give a list of teams and they were at the top of the list, so it’s good it all worked out," DeBrincat said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "I’m obviously very happy to be a Red Wing."
The Red Wings are very happy to have him. He's exactly the kind of player they've been missing, a goal-scorer who can swing a game with a single shot. DeBrincat scored 40 goals twice with the Blackhawks and was on pace for 50 in the COVID-shortened season of 2020-21. He wasn't quite as prolific in his lone season with the Senators, but only 11 NHL players have scored more goals than DeBrincat's 100 over the past three seasons.
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The knock on his game is on the other side of the puck. DeBrincat was a minus-31 last season, though that was partly attributable to poor luck. His on-ice shooting percentage and on-ice save percentage both plunged to career lows at five-on-five, so a bounceback is likely in order. He should also benefit from joining a team that plays defense-first hockey under Derek Lalonde.
DeBrincat acknowledged that "my 200-foot game can always get better." He also pointed out that "it got a lot better" toward the end of his time with the Blackhawks. Indeed, DeBrincat was a minus-10 over his final two seasons in Chicago on a team that was a combined minus-97. No one should ever go too far down the plus-minus wormhole, but that was best on the team among players who logged at least 70 games. (Patrick Kane? Minus-26.)
"Obviously last year my plus-minus wasn’t very good, but I think there’s a lot of things that go into that as well, so looking to have a bounceback season and get that 200-foot game back," DeBrincat said. "I think I fit well on this team. There’s a lot of guys who want to play fast and control the puck and that’s kind of my big game, controlling the puck and playing in the O-zone. But you gotta play well in the D-zone to get it in the O-zone, so just looking to do that."
The addition of DeBrincat gives the Wings legitimate playoff aspirations for the first time in several years. A few more goals should yield a few more wins, which could be the difference between falling out of the race and staying in it. While DeBrincat admitted that "it's a little early to tell," he said that returning to the playoffs is the aim for the Red Wings next season. They were 12 points shy last season, the closest they've been since the last time they actually made them in 2016.
"That’s the goal going into the year," he said, "is playing meaningful games and hopefully contending for the Stanley Cup. I think that’s everyone’s goal in that locker room and we’re hoping to get there."
DeBrincat will wear No. 93 with the Red Wings (his normal No. 12 is in the rafters for Sid Abel), a throwback to Johan Franzen, one of the players he cheered for growing up. Last time he pulled on a Wings sweater he was likely headed to a game as a fan. The name on the back was likely Datsyuk. Next time, the name on the back will be his own.
"It’s just very exciting to be able to actually play for them and put that jersey on," he said.
Other highlights from DeBrincat's interview on 97.1 The Ticket
On golfing with (and getting recruited by) Dylan Larkin this summer: "We were just kind of talking about it would be cool to play here. At that point it was so early in the summer we hadn’t really fully discussed what I wanted to do, but I knew it was a possibility at that point and obviously super happy it worked out and get to be his teammate and hopefully gain some chemistry before the season."
On being potential linemates with Larkin: "It would be very cool to play with Larks, but at the same time, not my decision. It’s coach’s decision. Whatever he thinks is going to work best. We’re all here to win hockey games and compete for the Stanley Cup, so whatever is going to get us closer to that goal is what I’m willing to do."
On his confrontation with Moritz Seider last season: "I know most players are bigger than me, so I try not to back down to anyone. Sometimes I just see red and go for it (laughing), so that’s the way it happened there."
On the idea of the Red Wings signing Kane: "It would be awesome to play with him again. But then again, I am not the GM, so I’ll leave that up to Steve. But I think he’s still got a lot left in the tank, I think his surgery this summer will really help him out and when he comes back he’ll be flying."
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