There are pros and cons to trading Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincatVincent Pariseon June 4, 2022 at 11:00 am

One player who exceeded expectations again was Alex DeBrincat. He certainly isn’t overpaid and is still pretty young but the Hawks still have to make a decision with him. He has one year left on his deal at 6.4 million and he is going to see a significant pay raise after that.

If the Hawks aren’t going to be good while he gets that pay raise, it might not be a wise idea. They would certainly get a lot of him on the trade market but it is also very hard to trade a 40-goal scoring All-Star. There are definitely pros and cons.

Trading Alex DeBrincat will have pros and cons for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Pros:

There are a lot of pros when it comes to trading Alex DeBrincat. For one, they would get a huge haul for him. It is obvious because he is young and just entering his prime. A good team (or even a not-so-good team looking to take that next step) would give up a lot.

What is a lot? First-round picks, prospects, and NHL-ready players could be in play when it comes to trading Alex DeBrincat. The Blackhawks need all of those things as they are set to undergo a rebuild. Having Alex DeBricnat might hinder that process from being done the right way.

Losing Alex DeBrincat also makes the Chicago Blackhawks a worse team. That might sound like a con (which it kind of is) but it is also a pro. This team needs to be bad for a few years.

There is a generational talent available in the draft next year and DeBrincat’s goal-scoring prowess could keep them from getting him. Rebuilding the right way is sometimes a painful process and you have to give up good players to do so.

Cons:

The cons are obvious. 40 or more goals are being taken out of the lineup. That eliminates the possibility of a sneaky good team existing in 2022-23. Although it is probably a good thing, it would be much less fun.

People want the Hawks to be better than bad and having DeBrincat makes that a possibility. It is a lot of fun watching him make awesome plays with Patrick Kane in a Blackhawks jersey. A lot of life would be taken from this team if he left.

It is certainly going to be interesting to see if the Blackhawks have what it takes to make a move like this. There is no perfect answer to the question but we all know the Blackhawks need to be much better as a team. Kyle Davidson needs to put his best foot forward in order for that to happen. Trading number 12 might be a painfully good idea.