Alex DeBrincat remains the top trade target heading into the 2022 NHL draft later this week in Montreal. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Philadelphia Flyers are among the teams that have made a pitch for the Chicago Blackhawks star.
Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher seems to be picking up where he left off last summer when he acquired Ryan Ellis, Cam Atkinson and Rasmus Ristolainen. DeBrincat, however, would be a much bigger catch. The 24-year-old left winger is a five-year NHL veteran coming off his second 41-goal performance.
DeBrincat could be too expensive for the rebuilding Blackhawks’ long-term plans. He’s signed through 2022-23 with an annual average value of $6.4 million. A restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights, he’ll also be only a year away from UFA eligibility.
Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson may be entertaining offers for DeBrincat but there’s no certainty he’ll trade him. Then again, few believed that he’d move Brandon Hagel before shipping the 23-year-old winger to the Tampa Bay Lightning prior to the March trade deadline.
Friedman reported last week hearing Davidson rejected an offer from an unnamed club that contained two first-round picks. However, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers believe the Blackhawks GM could move out DeBrincat if he can get a top-10 pick and a quality prospect.
With the fifth-overall selection in the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft, the Flyers can address one part of that need. They also hold the Florida Panther’s 2024 first-rounder.
Lazerus and Powers wondered wonder if those two picks plus a “good-but-not-great” prospect might get the deal done. Davidson, however, might prefer the Flyers’ first in this year’s draft plus a promising youngster like Cam York or Bobby Brink.
