Alex DeBrincat can be a goal-scoring machine, having put up 41 in 2021-22, his last hurrah with the Chicago Blackhawks. Last season, his second one with the Detroit Red Wings, DeBrincat scored 39 goals.
DeBrincat's somebody who could lead the Wings in scoring for years on end, but if he wants to set a new franchise record, he's got to step up and hit the 66-goal mark to surpass the 65 Steve Yzerman scored in 1988-89.
Heck, if you look at the Red Wings top-10 single-season goal scorers, he'll need 50 just to find a spot on the list. That means, not only does DeBrincat need to bring the same kind of game he brought to the table in 2021-22 and 2024-25, but the Red Wings must find a way to turn into a high-octane team again.
How could Alex DeBrincat best chase Steve Yzerman's single-season record?
We know this much: The Red Wings boasted an epic power play in 2024-25 with a 27.00 conversion percentage, and that's not going away any time soon. For DeBrincat, it's all about scoring on the man advantage, something he proved last season when he put 13 into the net.
The better DeBrincat fares on the power play, the easier it'll be for him to at least have a chance to break into the top 10. But the Wings have to be better than the 235-goal team they were in 2024-25, and resemble the group that ended 2023-24 with 275 goals.
Ironically, DeBrincat "only" scored 27 times that year, but he made up for it with 40 assists. Still, it's all about increasing his odds to to break into the top-10, and that means better scoring at even strength and 5-on-5.
Speaking of which, the Wings only found the net at 5-on-5 a measly 7.6 percent of all their shots on goal, while the 32-team league averaged 8.2. Contrast that from 2023-24, and the Wings shooting percentage at 5-on-5 was a sparkling 9.2 percent, compared to just 8.0 for the rest of the league.
Alex DeBrincat won't be leaving his prime any time soon
DeBrincat's window for success is wide open, and that won't change in the foreseeable future. He's a go-to on a Red Wings team whose core is nearly complete, and there's a good chance he'll keep getting better well into his 30s.
Can I realistically see someone like DeBrincat breaking Steve Yzerman's record in single-season goals? Right now, he hasn't given me a reason to. But is there a good chance he'll land in the top 10?
Hey, if the Yzerplan makes strides in that same foreseeable future, he'll threaten 50 goals, guaranteed. And that will let him punch his way into the top 10 list of top single-season goal scorers in team history.
More from Octopus Thrower