LONDON, ON – APRIL 12: Remi Elie #81, Alex DeBrincat #12, and Connor McDavid #97 of the Erie Otters watch the action against the London Knights during Game Three of the OHL Western Conference Semi-Final at Budweiser Gardens on April 12, 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada. The Otters defeated the Knights 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
All-Star Weekend was awesome for Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat. He participated in the festivities for the first time in his NHL career. He has truly become one of the five best pure goal scorers in the National Hockey League so it is fair to assume he will be back.
Few can finish a play the way that he does. It is mesmerizing to watch him shoot pucks when one is on his tape. He can score goals on his own based on his ability to shoot and find great scoring areas which is always nice for someone like him. However, having an elite playmaker like Patrick Kane certainly helps.
Do you know who is an even better playmaker than Patrick Kane? Connor McDavid. In fact, Connor McDavid is the best playmaker (and overall player) in the National Hockey League. It is always fun to watch him play because he has a chance to do something special on every shift.
Connor McDavid played his junior hockey with Alex DeBrincat for the Erie Otters where they had a lot of success together. Both of them are now star players in the NHL after building up their draft stock playing together.
Alex DeBrincat would be amazing with Connor McDavid at the NHL level.
McDavid currently plays for the Edmonton Oilers where he is, as previously mentioned, the best player on planet earth. He makes his magnificent plays using his incredible speed and ability to shoot or pass.
If these two were paired again at the NHL level, they would make magic on the ice. Combining DeBrincat’s goal scoring talent would be taken to another level if McDavid was his centerman. It would also increase McDavid’s goal scoring chances because of the fact that DeBrincat is so lethal.
We have seen how dangerous things can be when Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid play together. Leon is the winger in this situation and McDavid does a great job finding him. However, there is significantly less depth when these two are on the same line.
The team hums so much better when they are each driving a line as a center. That is a huge reason for Edmonton to consider giving up a fair amount for DeBrincat. It would add an elite goal scorer for McDavid and Draisaitl can continue playing on a second line with some of the other good wingers (Kailer Yamamoto, Jesse Puljujarv, Evander Kane) on the team.
For the Blackhawks, this is something to seriously consider. Trading DeBrincat might not sound appealing but that doesn’t take away from facts. He has one year left after this one on a fairly cheap deal based on his production.
He is going to get a significant pay raise after that year if he keeps putting together monster goal scoring seasons and that just wouldn’t be smart for Chicago. They are much closer to winning a draft lottery than they are winning a Stanley Cup so getting a lot of great future assets is something to consider.
