Thursday might be the day that Alex DeBrincat is tradedVincent Pariseon July 7, 2022 at 4:50 pm

In 2021-22, the Blackhawks saw him have a career year. He was an All-Star because he was so good in the first half. He finished the year with 41 goals and 37 assists for 78 points in 82 games. He has proven that he can be a difference make in multiple different ways.

The problem for DeBrincat is that he is the right player at the wrong time. He joined the Chicago Blackhawks organization right as they were coming down from being one of the best teams in the NHL. Now, he is one of the only bright spots on a rebuilding team.

The Chicago Blackhawks could move on from Alex DeBrincat at the draft.

He has one year left on his rather team-friendly deal. His next contract is probably going to be rather lucrative with a lot of term on it. The Hawks aren’t really in a position to be adding another high-value contract to their cap while they try to rebuild.

If they weren’t rebuilding, he would be a no-brainer to re-sign. They have Seth Jones’ big contract kicking in next year which makes things tough on them in the long term. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each have one year left at 10.5 million as well which complicates a lot of things.

With the 2022 NHL Draft on Thursday night, trading DeBrincat might get them out of this problem. There are plenty of teams in the top five that could make this trade. The Hawks could certainly get a lot for him which has to make the idea of trading him appealing for Kyle Davidson.

Letting him go isn’t a fun decision but it is probably going to end up being the right decision. As long as the Blackhawks do well with the draft picks they get or prospects in return, they could use this to accelerate their rebuild. It isn’t a guarantee to happen but it very well could.