The Montreal Canadiens fan base has been on the edge of their seats for a while now anticipating the next move by Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton. With Ben Chiarot gone and the rumors heating up about Artturi Lehkonen possibly being moved, there is some turmoil in Chicago that the Canadiens need to look at very seriously.
With Brandon Hagel packing his sandals and moving to Tampa Bay, there has been a lot of rumbling that Chicago management are looking at a full scale rebuild and have reportedly been sending feelers about the value of Patrick Kane, should he lift his no trade clause. Kane has one more year left on his 8 year $84 million contract with a $10.5 million cap hit.
One name that also has been showing up in trade rumors a lot more often as of late is the one of Alex Debrincat. Lots of reports state that if Kane is traded, Debrincat will follow or vice versa.
In speaking with a few clubs clear they are watching Patrick Kane situation closely to see if the trade of Hagel changes the equation. If Kane goes expect DeBrincat to go or if DeBrincat goes expect Kane to follow! Things are getting interesting! 🔥🤯 @NHLNetwork
— Brian Lawton (@brianlawton9) March 18, 2022
In my opinion, the Chicago #Blackhawks SHOULD trade Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) March 18, 2022
They will not be a contender for the rest of 88’s prime and 12’s contract after 2022-23 will be way too expensive for a rebuilding NHL team.
Alex Debrincat doesn’t come cheap, both in trade value and contract wise. He has one more season left with a cap hit of $6.4 million in which he will become a restricted free agent. This is obviously the kind of move you do in the off-season, but still definitely needs to be looked at.
That being said, this is a Cole Caufield clone. Similar physique, an electric scorer, can play both sides of the wing and he’s exciting to watch. He is exactly the kind of player Martin St. Louis and Kent Hughes would want on their team – speedy, fearless and can score. He has seasons of 28, 41, 18, and 32 goals while this year he currently sits at 34 goals.
Things would come full circle for the Canadiens in a way as Debrincat was one of two second round draft picks that was sent to the Blackhawks when the Habs traded for Andrew Shaw in 2016.
The Canadiens are stacked with draft picks. This year alone they currently have 14 picks with 2 of them being in the first round. In 2023, they also have 2 first rounders. If the Canadiens can get that 1st round pick for Artturi Lehkonen, things suddenly become interesting.
Of course any package for Debrincat starts with one, maybe even two first round picks as well as prospects. In all honesty, if the Canadiens can find another Josh Anderson type of player to protect the smaller forwards, this would open up even more space up the ice.
Imagine seeing Debrincat-Suzuki-Caufield on the power play night after night.
Are you not entertained?