Detroit Red Wings: Alex DeBrincat in uncharted territory for 2023-24

The most significant move of the Detroit Red Wings off-season by far was trading for Alex DeBrincat in the blockbuster trade with the Senators. The Red Wings “got their guy,” as it was rumored that the two sides had been nearing a deal for quite some time.

It really is excellent for the Detroit Red Wings, as they are getting a big-time scorer who should be able to breathe some life into this offense. He’s going to be a massive help in terms of goal production and help the Red Wings try to hope that fence and get back to a position where they can compete in a postseason series.

It’s not all on DeBrincat alone, and the one trade is not magically going to get them there. But bringing in DeBrincat will surely be a big piece of the puzzle and should help the team start to turn a corner.

The thing for DeBrincat is that he’s heading into uncharted territory. While it’s a new offense, so that’s obvious, there’s a different makeup in the Red Wings’ offense than in past organizations, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat is in uncharted territory.

In Chicago, DeBrincat played alongside Patrick Kane, having Kane be the “top dog” in that line. He was the top dog in the offense there, and DeBrincat was able to play second fiddle and still produce. In his best year in Chicago, DeBrincat scored 41 goals with 37 assists for 78 total points. He also had another season with 76 points in a Blackhawks uniform.

Last season after joining the Senators, he was in an offense led by Brady Tkachuk and young phenom Tim Stützle leading the charge there. Again, he took a secondary offense role and still found plenty of success in doing so. He scored 27 goals and added 39 assists for 66 total points over all 82 games during the 2022-23 season with the Senators.

For the Red Wings, Dylan Larkin is the top offensive performer but could easily be outdone. It could be DeBrincat’s time to shine as a no.1 scorer for a team’s offense. It’s a new thing for DeBrincat, who has mostly been a top performer but one of the tertiary scorers.

The Red Wings should be hopeful that DeBrincat can adjust to the team’s offense well. I have no reason to believe he will regress or struggle greatly, but it will be interesting as he’s likely the new top scorer alongside Larkin at the top of the offense.

The Red Wings have other weapons to help round out the forward core. It will be interesting to see how it plays out for DeBrincat.