This NHL trade makes the Chicago Blackhawks look great

The Chicago Blackhawks have made a lot of very smart moves over the last 18 months or so. Not every move you make is going to completely work out in your favor but it feels like they have so far for Kyle Davidson and his staff.

Last summer leading up to the draft, they traded Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for three draft picks. One of those three was a first-rounder that turned out to be Kevin Korchinski who is one of the best defensive prospects in the world now.

DeBrincat had a decent year in Ottawa but he wasn’t quite where he was in Chicago. He clearly missed playing with Patrick Kane but the truth is that Kane clearly missed playing with him too. DeBrincat scored 27 goals and had 39 assists for 66 points.

It became clear, however, that DeBrincat had no interest in signing an extension in Ottawa after the season so his name became popular in trade rumors. Well, it has finally happened.

Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat is on the move again.

The Farmington Hills, Michigan native is going to be sporting the winged wheel on his chest as he has been traded to the Detroit Red Wings. Playing at home will certainly be very cool for him on a personal level.

Going back to Ottawa is former Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, a first-round pick in 2024, and a fourth-round pick in the same draft.

DeBrincat agreed to a four-year deal with a cap hit of 7.875 million dollars. He might have not gotten the money that he wanted but he also might have taken a hometown discount.

This turned out to be a great deal for the Hawks though. They got Korchinski and a couple of other prospects out of it. They were also much worse without DeBrincat which played into them winning the Connor Bedard sweepstakes.

It is nice to have good-scoring wingers but those come and go. Building your hockey team down the middle of the ice and on defense is how you win championships. The Hawks have now started that process. They can trade for a DeBrincat-type player when it is time to start winning.

There have been a lot of wins for Kyle Davidson off-the-ice since taking over and now this DeBrincat one is clearly one as well. The Senators didn’t get nearly the return for him that the Hawks did.

With that all in mind, it will be so fun to watch him play with the Red Wings. The Hawks and Wings aren’t true rivals anymore but this will make the matchups even more entertaining. He is a great player that can reach even further heights. We’ll see where he goes.