Toronto Maple Leafs: Grading the Big Trade Between Division Rivals

The summer of 2022 was the off-season where the Ottawa Senators made some noise after making several moves that looked like they would be able to compete with the Toronto Maple Leafs sooner rather than later.

One of those players the Senators were hoping that could compete with the Toronto Maple Leafs was Alex DeBrincat.

Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion paid a heavy price for the two-time 40-goal scorer as he traded the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, along with a second and third round pick.

Dorion rolled the dice a bit as DeBrincat had just one year left on his contract, however would still be a restricted free agent at seasons end.  The former Erie Otter saw his production drop slightly in Ottawa, but still had his third best offensive output season as he collected 27-goals and 66-points.

Toronto Maple Leafs Division Rivals Make Big Trade

This off-season, the Ottawa Senators qualified DeBrincat, but he made it known he had interest in moving on from the organization and this past weekend he was traded to his hometown Detroit Red Wings.

Upon completion of the trade, DeBrincat signed a four-year contract that carries a cap hit of $7.875 Million.

The question is whether or not the Senators were able to recoup the value they traded to acquire the sniping winger one year ago.

The Return For Ottawa

In return, the Senators acquired Dominik Kubalik, Donovan Sebrango, a first round pick and a fourth round pick.  The first round pick is a conditional pick, however the conditions is between two first round picks which means either way it is a top-32 pick.

In Kubalik, the Senators acquire a 27-year old power forward that previously scored 30-goals and is coming off potting 20 last year in Detroit.  in 283 career games, the Czech born winger has 82-goals and averages around 15 minutes per night.  Kubalik is a quality NHL player that could fit into the middle six in Ottawa, but has just one-year left remaining on his contract before hitting unrestricted free agency. (stats nhl.com).

Sebrango is an Ottawa native, so he will return to his hometown organization, but is not projected as an NHL player.  The 6’1″ defenseman is still just 21-years old and split last season between playing in the AHL and the ECHL.

The draft picks are completely unknown at this time as they both in the 2024 draft, however given the conditions, it is extremely unlikely they will getting anything comparing the 7th overall pick.

In the original deal, Ottawa traded the seventh and 39th overall selections, which turned out to be Kevin Korchinski and Paul Ludwinski.  Korchinski is a highly touted defenseman who skated for Canada’s World Junior Championship team last winter and averaged more than a point per game in the WHL.  Ludwinski is a defensive center playing in the OHL and still needs time to develop.

When evaluating the trade you have to look at the fact that Ottawa gave away a 7th overall pick then missed the playoffs.  They get back a little bit of that value, what they don’t get back is payment for losing their bet.   The risk vs reward here isn’t terrible.

Grade: B+

For Detroit they get a star player with 40 goal potential fairly cheap, so A+.