Alex DeBrincat's next contract just got a price tag, and the Detroit Red Wings might flinch at the number.
David Pagnotta said on Oilersnation Everyday that the winger wants somewhere in the 12 to 14 million dollar range, depending on term.
He currently carries a $7,875,000 cap hit. Even the low end of that ask means a jump of more than $4 million per season.
And the timing couldn't be worse. Detroit lost 3-2 to Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon and opened the season 0-2-0 on home ice.
Hammering out a franchise-sized deal during a winless start feels a lot like listing your house the same week the furnace dies.
DeBrincat wasn't the problem Sunday. Todd McLellan leaned on him for 23:16, and the winger fired four shots on goal while picking up his first point of the season.
The guy who beat Detroit tells the story of this negotiation. Kyle Connor scored twice, including the winner, and carries a $12 million cap hit.
Shawn Horcoff faces a cap call that could reshape Detroit
For Shawn Horcoff, the math gets uncomfortable fast. Moritz Seider already counts $8,550,000 against the cap, and Lucas Raymond sits at $8,075,000.
Slide DeBrincat in at the bottom of his range and those three alone would cost more than $28 million a season.
The top end is worse. At 14 million, he'd match Leon Draisaitl and sit above Auston Matthews.
That's a bad bet. Paying a winger like a franchise center rarely ages well, and Detroit has managed just two goals across two home games.
Can the Red Wings afford to walk away, though? They outshot Winnipeg 35-27 Sunday and still lost, which says plenty about how badly they need finishers.
Stuart Skinner stopped 33 of those shots. Viktor Arvidsson's power-play goal and an Emmitt Finnie marker were all Detroit could solve.
At the other end, John Gibson turned aside 24 of 27.
Depth up front is already stretched. Marco Kasper is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is expected to be out until at least Oct. 6.
Ottawa visits Tuesday night, and every shift DeBrincat takes now doubles as a negotiation.
Horcoff can take his time. The real question is how much of it his winger is willing to give him.
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Should the Red Wings pay Alex DeBrincat 12 million dollars a season?
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