Injury Notes: Couturier, Atkinson, Boucher, Pickering
While there were a myriad of reasons why the Philadelphia Flyers as a franchise went on a significant downturn after their run to Game Seven of the second round in the 2019-20 playoffs, injuries have been among the biggest. The Flyers have simply lost too many players they planned on having as meaningful contributors to long-term injuries, and that has plunged the franchise into a rebuild as a result. Thankfully for Philadelphia, it seems two of their more significant players lost to injury may be ready to re-enter the lineup.
Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports that Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson were “very active” in today’s informal veteran skate before the start of rookie camp, adding that both players ” look ready for [training] camp. ” That’s a major development for the Flyers, who would be able to add a top-line center and a former 40-goal scorer back into their lineup after a full year missed for each player. While that likely won’t be enough to return head coach John Tortorella’s side back to the postseason, the presence of two accomplished veterans on the Flyers’ roster could help the development of the Flyers’ stable of young players and advance their rebuild.
More injury notes from across the NHL:
- Tyler Boucher has had his development derailed by injuries since he was selected 10th overall by the Ottawa Senators at the 2021 draft. He only played in 21 games last season and missed some time in 2021-22 as well. Boucher has yet again run into injury trouble, suffering a groin injury in his preparation for the Senators’ rookie tournament. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Boucher “won’t participate” in the rookie tournament, but “will be fine for camp.” While it’s certainly possible that this injury is just a one-off issue that won’t cost Boucher very much in the long term, (one hopes this is the case) the fact that Boucher has had such persistent trouble staying healthy is a cause for concern with his development. Boucher was always going to be more of a project pick, with the Senators hoping that after a few years of development, Boucher could learn to leverage his impressive physical tools into on-ice success. It’s unclear whether he’s been able to do that to this point, though in order to make 2023-24 a valuable season of development he’ll need to be able to get onto the ice as much as possible.
- Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays word from Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins head coach J.D. Forrest that 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering is dealing with an undisclosed injury. Rorabaugh adds that he’s “hopefully ready by the start of training camp” though that is unclear at this time. Pickering is a bit of a long shot to make the Penguins out of camp, but did get into eight pro games last season and likely will spend one more year as a top-line defenseman in the WHL.
Minor Transactions: 09/14/23
The 2023-24 NHL season is coming into clearer view as each day passes, and today marks the start of the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan. Tomorrow, the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase begins, and can’t-miss prospect Connor Bedard was on the ice today preparing, already showcasing his impressive skills.
Overseas, today marks opening night for two major European leagues. The SHL kicks off today with seven games set to be played, highlighted by a battle between 2022 champions Färjestad BK and 2023 champions Växjö Lakers. In Germany, the DEL begins play today with defending champions EHC Red Bull München against Düsseldorfer EG.
With the hockey season finally re-starting in many places across the world, there is still some player movement as teams look to make some late additions to their lineup for the season. As always, we’ll keep track of notable transactions here.
- Former Minnesota Wild prospect and point-per-game ECHL scorer Shawn Boudrias has decided to head overseas to continue his professional career. The 24-year-old 2018 sixth-round pick signed with Kalmar HC, a club in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of Swedish hockey. Kalmar has the chance to add some serious firepower to their roster with this signing, as Boudrias scored 33 goals and 65 points for the Fort Wayne Komets in the ECHL last season. Although he faltered in the playoffs, Boudrias has put together a total of 106 points in 125 career games in the ECHL, and will now take his talents to Sweden.
- The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings have signed bruising winger Nico Blachman to a one-year contract. Blachman, 25, is a six-foot-two winger who spent time with three ECHL teams last season. He was at his best in the final stop of his campaign, an 18-game run with the Norfolk Admirals. There, the Florida native scored eight points and racked up a whopping 131 penalty minutes. He’ll bring energy and physicality to Kalamazoo, who are hoping to spark a return to the postseason having not qualified for the playoffs since 2018-19.
- Swiss forward Marc Marchon has played a big role for National League side EHC Kloten for the past few seasons now. He was with the club as they were relegated from the NL to the second-tier SL in 2017-18, and then spent four seasons playing second-division hockey with the team in an effort to push their promotion back to the NHL. Marchon’s 62 points in just 45 games powered Kloten to promotion in 2021-22, and his 22 points in 44 games (as well as leadership as the club’s captain) last season helped the club earn survival in the National League for another season. Now, it appears 2023-24 will be the end of Marchon’s current tenure in Kloten. The 28-year-old forward has signed a three-year contract with NL rivals SC Bern, a deal that contains an option for a fourth year. Marchon will play this season alongside Montreal Canadiens top prospect David Reinbacher (assuming Reinbacher doesn’t make the Canadiens out of training camp) before heading to Bern for 2024-25.
- Responding to an injury to club captain David Warsofsky, the DEL’s Augsburg Panthers have signed well-traveled defenseman Otso Rantakari to a contract. Rantakari, 29, was a quality blueliner for HIFK Helsinki in Liiga last season, leading their defensemen in scoring with 29 points in 53 games. Rantakari has been a regular in some of Europe’s top leagues for a while, ever since his 2014-15 campaign where he won Liiga’s Rookie of the Year award. Rantakari won a Liiga title with Tappara Tampere in 2016-17 and his high-level experience in many top leagues and the Champions Hockey League will certainly assist Augsburg in the absence of Warsofsky.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
St. Louis Blues Sign Nick Ritchie To PTO
The other Ritchie brother has signed a PTO of his own. Relatively shortly after Brett Ritchie reportedly signed a PTO with the Florida Panthers, his brother Nick Ritchie has had a PTO agreement announced with the St. Louis Blues.
This is actually the second consecutive time the Ritchie brothers have seen their names appear next to each other on the transactions wire. Earlier this year, the brothers were traded for each other, with Nick and defenseman Troy Stecher headed to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Brett and Connor Mackey, who went to the Arizona Coyotes.
Ritchie isn’t coming off of a great season, which could be why he’s had to settle for a PTO rather than a full contract. He scored a total of 13 goals and 26 points last season, just three points more than he scored in 2021-22 despite playing in 17 additional contests. The six-foot-three, 236-pound former top prospect has scored at around the same rate (goals in the early teens, points in the mid-twenties) for much of his NHL career.
It was an intriguing combination of size and scoring ability that made Ritchie such a highly-touted prospect and is what got him selected 10th overall by the Anaheim Ducks at the 2014 draft. He hasn’t been able to translate his quality scoring numbers in both junior hockey and his brief stay in the AHL to the NHL, though.
The lack of time and space afforded in the NHL has been a particular issue for Ritchie, who lacks the sort of separation speed, deceptive puck skills, or overwhelming puck protection talents to create time and space for himself. As a result, he’s settled into more of a bottom-six role while offering a little bit more offensive touch than the average fourth-liner.
Arriving in St. Louis for camp, Ritchie does have something of a shot to make their NHL roster and earn a full contract. He’s competing with players such as Oskar Sundqvist, Samuel Blais, Mackenzie MacEachern, Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker, and Nikita Alexandrov for a depth role on head coach Craig Berube’s roster.
With a strong camp and preseason, he could end up having a longer stay in St. Louis. But without the guarantee of a full contract to play somewhere this season, Ritchie has an extremely important month ahead of him.
Colorado Avalanche Sign Tomáš Tatar
The Colorado Avalanche have taken one of the best remaining free agents off the market. They’ve signed veteran forward Tomáš Tatar to a one-year contract.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Tatar’s one-year deal is worth $1.5MM. CapFriendly has added that the deal is $1.5MM exclusively in base salary, and does not include any form of trade protection.
Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland issued the following statement regarding Tatar’s signing:
Tomas has been a consistent, productive player throughout his NHL career. He is a veteran winger who brings scoring depth to our middle six and can contribute at both ends of the ice. We are excited to have him under contract for this season.
On one hand, it’s certainly surprising to see a player like Tatar wait so long to receive a contract, and receive a contract at a $1.5MM AAV. Tatar is, after all, one of the NHL’s more consistent regular-season goal scorers.
Tatar has crossed the 20-goal plateau seven times in his career, and at certain times has posted the numbers of a top-line scorer. In 2019-20, Tatar led the Montreal Canadiens in scoring with 61 points in 68 games, a 74-point pace.
He’s been a consistent first or second-line scorer throughout his NHL career, and isn’t even coming off of a poor season, as he scored 20 goals and 48 points in 2022-23.
But as NHL teams place more of a priority on players who can bring them playoff success, the biggest red flag on Tatar’s resume has to have been the single greatest reason he’s languished on the market so long.
At this point in Tatar’s career, there’s no mistaking what he is. He’s a high-quality, consistent scorer in the regular season who is all but certain to almost disappear come playoff time. Tatar has just 13 points in 52 career postseason games. Twice, Tatar’s team has left him a frequent healthy scratch en route to the Stanley Cup Final.
On a consistent basis, NHL teams have found Tatar’s playoff struggles so severe that they’re forced to simply sit him in the press box rather than hope that he can suddenly find a scoring touch. With that in mind, it becomes a little less surprising that Tatar has waited so long to receive a deal.
At a $1.5MM cap hit, though, those playoff concerns are far less important. Regardless of how he’ll fare in the postseason, the Avalanche are receiving a consistent 20-goal threat at a cap hit lower than what many teams pay their fourth-line centers.
Tatar stands a really strong chance at providing the Avalanche with a lot of surplus value on his cap hit, and the $1.5MM cap hit minimizes the downside risk of this investment should Tatar once again falter in the playoffs.
So while Tatar certainly has his critics due to his postseason play, his regular-season value is undeniable. At a $1.5MM investment, this is a no-brainer signing for the Avalanche.
They add Tatar to an already impressive mix set of scoring wingers, and should Tatar manage to win the left-wing job on the team’s first line (beating out three of his former teammates in Artturi Lehkonen, Miles Wood, and Jonathan Drouin for the job) he could even have a chance for a career year.
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Adam Lowry Named Winnipeg Jets Captain
A second Canadian franchise has named a player captain in just as many days. After the Vancouver Canucks named star defenseman Quinn Hughes as their next captain, the Winnipeg Jets have followed up with their own choice, tapping center Adam Lowry to wear the “C.”
Lowry is the Jets’ third captain since the club relocated to Winnipeg from Atlanta. The previous captains were Andrew Ladd, who officially retired on Sunday, and Blake Wheeler, who was stripped of the captaincy before the 2022-23 season.
Lowry isn’t exactly a surprising choice for the role, as although the Jets have bigger-name star players on their roster, Lowry has long been recognized for exemplary leadership skills.
The 30-year-old veteran forward has been a captain before in his career, leading the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos during the 2012-13 season.
Before this past year, Lowry’s on-ice production may not have been exactly what one would expect for a player set to take on the prominent role of captaining a team in a high-pressure Canadian market. Bottom-six players typically don’t have a ton of staying power on their teams, and change clubs with more frequency than higher-scoring stars.
But this past season was the best of Lowry’s career, one that cemented his place in Winnipeg for years to come. He scored 13 goals and 36 points in the regular season and five points in five playoff games.
Lowry is under contract through the 2025-26 season, and seeing as he’s only played for the Jets so far, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him play his entire NHL career in Winnipeg. It’s also worth noting is also that Lowry is a second-generation NHL captain. Lowry’s father, Dave Lowry, captained the Calgary Flames from 2000 to 2002.
With significant uncertainty facing the Jets due to the looming expiration of contracts for franchise netminder Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele, this is an extremely important season for the club to make a strong competitive push.
Now, today’s announcement confirms that Lowry’s leadership will take a central role in any competitive push the team makes.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Torey Krug Suffers Foot Injury
The St. Louis Blues have announced this morning that veteran defenseman Torey Krug has “suffered a right-foot injury while training for the upcoming 2023-24 season,” and will be re-evaluated on October 1st.
Based on the Blues’ announcement, the timeline of this injury means that Krug will miss a chunk of time at the start of Blues training camp, stretching through the team’s first few preseason games. It’s certainly not an ideal situation for Krug.
However, it is at least somewhat encouraging that the team did not offer a longer timeline for Krug’s absence, leaving room for optimism that he could be in far better shape health-wise around the time of his re-evaluation.
Of course, with the limited amount of information the Blues provided, it’s also certainly possible that Krug’s injury is more severe than this announcement makes it initially seem.
The inclusion of just a re-evaluation date but no firmer timeline does, after all, also allow for the possibility of a more extended absence.
What this injury means for the Blues’ defense isn’t entirely clear until the full extent of Krug’s absence is revealed.
Assuming Krug is ready for opening night, he’ll likely resume the top-four role he’s played in Blues coach Craig Berube’s blueline throughout his time in St. Louis.
But if he’s out for a more extended period, that could mean that a player like Scott Perunovich steps into a larger role on St. Louis’ defense early in the year. It would be an interesting twist for Perunovich, 25, to gain a greater NHL opportunity due to an injury to a teammate after his own injuries laid waste to his development over the last few seasons.
He plays an up-tempo offensive game that’s reminiscent of Krug’s and would be the best option among the Blues’ depth defensemen to replicate his style of game. But until more information comes to light about Krug’s injury, whether Perunovich (or another Blues defenseman) will get a chance to play a bigger role is still ultimately a mystery.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Kieffer Bellows, Jayden Halbgewachs To PTOs
The Carolina Hurricanes signed two players to PTOs last night, forward Kieffer Bellows and Jayden Halbgewachs. This move grows the Hurricanes’ stable of PTO additions to six players, as the club has already signed tryout agreements with Cory Conacher, Brendan Perlini, Nick Shore, and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu.
It’s set to be a competitive training camp in Raleigh as a result, and the battle for NHL jobs should be especially fierce given that the Hurricanes don’t currently have an official AHL affiliate. Their general manager, Don Waddell, has offered assurances throughout the summer that the organization will be able to loan its players to teams in the AHL without an affiliation agreement, but without any certainty on where Hurricanes players might be playing in the NHL, it could make the pressure even greater to win one of the NHL jobs on offer.
In Bellows, the Hurricanes are adding a former top prospect who hasn’t lived up to the hype in the NHL. Bellows, 25, is the owner of an NHL-caliber shot and has hit the 20-goal mark in the AHL. But in the NHL, Bellows hasn’t been able to become any sort of consistent goal scorer, in large part thanks to his deficiencies as a skater.
The lack of time and space available in the NHL, a trademark characteristic of the world’s most difficult league, combined with Bellows’ lack of separation ability has made it almost impossible for him to get into quality scoring positions.
As a result, he’s been forced to settle for lower percentage chances when he does manage to get his shot off. (low-percentage shots he still sometimes manages to score on due to the quality of his shot)
Bellows’ inability to consistently create space for himself to get higher-quality chances could help explain why his shooting percentage over the last two years stands at a paltry 8.1%.
His lack of offensive production meant that Bellows, who stands six-foot-one, 195 pounds, was also tried in a bottom-six checking role, but he proved ineffective there too. He was claimed off of waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers this past season, but only managed three points in 27 games. The Flyers didn’t extend him a qualifying offer, and he’s been left on the UFA market until now.
The hero of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships and 2016 first-round pick faces a tough task in training camp trying to earn a roster on such a good Hurricanes team, but Carolina wouldn’t have signed him if they didn’t believe he at least stood a chance of winning a job on their team.
As for Halbgewachs, he’s had a very different experience in many ways to Bellows so far in his career. While Bellows is a big, powerful winger, Halbgewachs stands five-foot-eight, 160 pounds. While Bellows was a first-round pick and top prospect, Halbgewachs is an undrafted player who had to score 70 goals and 129 points in the WHL en route to his entry-level contract. But they do have some similarities. Halbgewachs, like Bellows, has proven to be a quality AHL player but has had NHL success elude him.
Halbgewachs scored 41 points in 59 AHL games last season and even earned his first NHL call-up, eventually playing in three games for the San Jose Sharks. He didn’t re-sign in San Jose, though, as at-the-time new Sharks GM Mike Grier elected not to extend Halbgewachs an offer. So Halbgewachs went to Europe, signing a SHL deal with the Växjö Lakers. He won an SHL title with Växjö, but only managed 24 points in 69 combined regular-season and playoff games.
Even more than Bellows, Halbgewachs faces long odds at winning an NHL job. A player at his size playing an offensive game typically needs to be able to stick on a scoring line to have a role, and it’s highly unlikely Halbgewachs will be able to unseat one of the Hurricanes’ incumbent scorers.
But this PTO nonetheless gives him an opportunity to test his mettle against NHL-caliber competition in training camp, and potentially play some preseason games to showcase his talents to the wider hockey world.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Andrew Ladd Announces Retirement
1001-game NHL veteran Andrew Ladd announced his retirement today on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Ladd finishes an NHL career that began in the 2005-06 season after he was made the fourth overall pick of the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2004 draft.
Ladd had an undoubtedly impressive NHL career. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning it as a rookie with Carolina and in 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ladd didn’t quite live up to the promise of his selection in Carolina, but quickly changed that narrative after arriving in Chicago.
With the Blackhawks, Ladd broke out as a top-six forward by scoring 49 points in 2008-09.
But while he had his breakout in Chicago and won a Stanley Cup there, it was Ladd’s trade to the then-Atlanta Thrashers that truly led to his ascent to NHL stardom.
Ladd was immediately named captain of the Thrashers and instantly reached new offensive heights. He scored 29 goals and 59 points, beginning a run of seven consecutive seasons where he scored 20 goals or at a 20-plus goal pace.
It was in Winnipeg where Ladd made his biggest mark, leading the newly relocated franchise as its first captain. He led them to the playoffs for the first time since their relocation, and in his last full season in Winnipeg Ladd had a career-high 62 points. Ladd even dabbled in international play during his time captaining the Jets, representing Canada at three IIHF Men’s World Championships.
Ladd returned to the Blackhawks for their 2016 Stanley Cup push, though the team ultimately fell short and Ladd hit unrestricted free agency. That was undoubtedly the turning point of his career, as Ladd signed an ill-fated $5.5MM AAV contract with the New York Islanders that stretched through the 2022-23 season. Ladd did manage 23 goals in his first season on Long Island, but only added eight assists.
That would be the most productive year in his time in New York, by far. His goal total dropped to 12 the following year, and in 2018-19 Ladd only managed to play 26 games. Ladd’s years of intense physical play, the things that made him such a valuable power forward in his prime, had taken its toll on Ladd’s body. The wear and tear he’d sustained over the years became more difficult to ignore, and Ladd could only manage sporadic availability.
By 2019-20, Ladd was outside the Islanders’ NHL plans, and playing more and more time in the AHL with the Islanders’ affiliate in Bridgeport. He was dealt in a cap-clearing trade to the Arizona Coyotes for 2021-22, where he managed to play in 51 games and finally crossed the 1,000 game plateau. Last season, Ladd failed his physical and was unable to suit up for the Coyotes, effectively ending his career one year before his contract was set to expire.
Now Ladd has officially retired, and he leaves behind a highly respectable NHL career. While the difficulties he faced with injuries and inconsistency, as well as his diminished physical tools in his final few years may have clouded people’s impressions of Ladd, he was undoubtedly a valuable power forward in his prime. We at PHR wish Ladd the best for whatever lays ahead of him now that his playing days have concluded.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Philip Broberg
When the Edmonton Oilers selected Swedish defenseman Philip Broberg with the eighth overall pick at the 2019 draft, they likely had hopes that by 2023, he’d be a notable part of their NHL roster. Numerous players selected after Broberg have gone on to become legitimate difference-makers in the NHL, such as Trevor Zegras, who the Oilers’ division rival Anaheim Ducks selected with the very next pick.
To be fair to the Oilers, Broberg was always more of a project pick even at the time. Broberg is a gifted skater with impressive physical tools, and the hope was that those tools would eventually be developed into the more polished skillset of an elite NHL defenseman.
That hasn’t happened yet, though. Broberg spent two seasons after he was drafted playing pro hockey in the SHL for Skellefteå AIK and represented Sweden in a big role at the IIHF World Junior Championships both years. He made his North American debut in 2021-22, splitting time between the NHL with Edmonton and the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors.
This past season, Broberg spent most of his time in the NHL, skating in 46 games for the Oilers. He didn’t play a huge role, averaging just 12:36 TOI per game, although he did get a look on the penalty kill. Going into next season, the hope is that Broberg, now 22, will emerge as an impact NHLer just as so many from his 2019 draft class already have.
The Athletic’s Alan Mitchell writes that “there’s plenty of chatter from management” in Edmonton that Broberg will be “playing more this year,” with the implication being that Broberg will eventually replace incumbent top-four veterans Cody Ceci or Brett Kulak. (subscription link)
Kulak appears the likelier of the two to end up replaced in role by Broberg, simply because he’s a left-shot blueliner (like Broberg) while Ceci plays on the right side. Broberg has played on either side but one would think Broberg would reach his maximum comfort in the NHL playing on his strong side.
The fate of Broberg this season is of great importance to the Oilers, not just from a developmental perspective but also from a financial one. Salary cap constraints are likely to force the Oilers into carrying less than the maximum of 23 players on their active roster during the season. Broberg costs just $863k against the cap, while Kulak’s contract earns him $2.75MM per year through 2025-26.
Should Broberg find a way to finally take the next step in the NHL and seize a top-four role from Kulak, the Oilers could consider dealing the veteran to receive much-needed cap savings. But whether or not he actually takes that needed next step is still to be seen, and it could make Broberg one of the more intriguing players to watch in the preseason and early parts of the regular season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Alex DeBrincat
On paper, it seemed somewhat curious that Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat would forgo a likely highly lucrative contract extension with the Ottawa Senators in order to play elsewhere. But not long after DeBrincat concluded his season in Canada’s capital, it became clear that the 2022-23 campaign would be DeBrincat’s only one in Ottawa.
Yesterday, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch shed some light on why DeBrincat decided to push for an exit from the Senators, writing: “sources say [DeBrincat] didn’t like his role as a second-line winger” behind Senators captain and face of the franchise Brady Tkachuk.
It’s not difficult to see why, going into the 2022-23 season, DeBrincat may have expected to receive top-line billing in Ottawa. The Senators surrendered the seventh-overall pick alongside second and third-round selections to acquire DeBrincat, who was coming off of a 41-goal, 78-point season.
Those numbers exceeded Tkachuk’s from 2021-22 (30 goals, 67 points) by a fair margin, and it’s understandable that DeBrincat may have viewed himself as the best fit for the coveted left wing spot next to number-one center Tim Stützle.
That didn’t happen, though, and DeBrincat ended up falling behind Tkachuk both on the depth chart and in terms of production. Although DeBrincat actually averaged slightly higher ice time per game than Tkachuk, Tkachuk is the one who got the bulk of time next to Stützle (a breakout number-one center) on the team’s first line.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Stützle had DeBrincat as his left-wing running mate for a total of 97:49 TOI and had Tkachuk in that role for 915:25 TOI in total. The trio only played 30:58 TOI together.
Part of the success DeBrincat had in Chicago was due to the fact that he got to play next to one of the most talented offensive generators in recent NHL history, Patrick Kane. This isn’t to say that DeBrincat isn’t a capable offensive generator in his own right, (one doesn’t hit 40 goals multiple times in a career without being an elite talent in his own right) just to note that DeBrincat is clearly at his best when his lethal finishing abilities are fed into by a strong playmaking partner.
Without someone of those capabilities to play next to full-time, DeBrincat’s production declined, and he scored 27 goals and 66 points. With Josh Norris locked in as the Senators’ second-line center thanks to a $7.95MM AAV contract extension through 2029-30, DeBrincat was staring down a future playing next to Norris were he to sign a long-term extension in Ottawa.
Norris is a quality player who scored 35 goals in 2021-22, but not someone regarded as a high-end playmaker and passer. With Tkachuk seemingly untouchable as Stützle’s running mate and the Senators’ first-line left winger, it’s unsurprising that DeBrincat began to more heavily consider a future elsewhere.
Detroit is where DeBrincat’s future, at least for the next few seasons, lies. There doesn’t appear to be a top-end playmaker on the Red Wings’ roster who can compare to Stützle, but captain Dylan Larkin (79 points last season) isn’t too far behind. But looking ahead to training camp and the preseason, it’s imperative that the Red Wings find a way to make a DeBrincat – Larkin pairing work.
Neither Andrew Copp or J.T. Compher profile as the type of play-driving passer that DeBrincat has excelled with in the past, so for DeBrincat to be able to reach the heights in Detroit that he reached in Chicago, he’ll likely need what he couldn’t have in Ottawa: a firm grip on the first-line left winger job next to his team’s number-one center.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images