Asking Price For Alex DeBrincat Revealed!

Pierre LeBrun has confirmed the Blackhawks current asking price for Alex DeBrincat. LeBrun states that the current asking price begins with «a young player, a high-end draft pick, and a top-prospect like return». LeBrun also adds that «there is no guarantee that DeBrincat is moved, but they are listening».

There is a lot to unpack here and there are two main ways to look at the possibility of DeBrincat departing from Chicago. First of all, this would be a big haul. A high end first pick, potentially in the top 5, would add a much younger prospect with a ton of upside. This prospect would hypothetically enter his prime when the Hawks are ready to be competitive again and have the opportunity to develop into a cornerstone piece moving forward. Davidson has overhauled the scouting department which makes me feel a little more at ease than the previous regime having a pick that high.




The Blackhawks are also asking for a young player or two with NHL experience. This is similar to what we saw in the return for Brandon Hagel, which was two players who struggled to find quality NHL minutes but are talented enough to make an impact elsewhere. The Blackhawks are obviously going to be trying to find talented youth to lead the next wave of prospects to the NHL, and any player involved in a potential DeBrincat trade would be talented enough to do just that.

The last piece is the «top-prospect». This piece intrigues me the most because of the teams rumored to be all-in on DeBrincat. The Kings, Devils, and Senators are all rumored to be involved and have been stock piling talent over the past few seasons. You can't go wrong with any one of these team's top prospects coming back to Chicago in any deal.


One thing that Kyle Davidson has said in the past is that he will not move a player if the return doesn't make sense for the franchise. We saw this at the deadline when Calvin DeHaan didn't get moved, to the surprise of many. Davidson argued that DeHaan was more beneficial and useful to the team and development of younger defenseman than his trade market was offering.

This brings me to my next point. If teams don't offer a King's ransom for DeBrincat, he will be a Chicago Blackhawk long-term. In my opinion, you really can't make a wrong decision in this situation. There is no telling how DeBrincat's game will age, or if his production will dwindle without the Patrick Kane connection we have all enjoyed over the years. If DeBrincat ultimately stays, he will be a huge piece to build around moving forward. If he gets moved, the Blackhawks will gain numerous valuable futures to develop. Who knows, maybe one of them will be better than DeBrincat.