Alex DeBrincat's contract situation just moved higher up the Detroit Red Wings' priority list.
Max Bultman said this week his instinct, once Dylan Larkin's trade request became public, went straight to DeBrincat's own extension.
"They're gonna have to get DeBrincat signed, they can't mess around," Bultman said on Ozzy and Keats.
DeBrincat just finished a monster season by any measure. He posted 85 points in 82 games, including 41 goals, 15 of them on the power play.
His numbers held up down the stretch too, five goals and eight points over his final ten games, showing no signs of slowing as the season wound down.
He currently carries a $7,875,000 cap hit, a number that looks like a bargain given the production Detroit just got out of him.
Max Bultman: Re Red Wings: When the Larkin trade request first came out...my mind went...they're gonna have to get DeBrincat signed, they can't mess around; as the summer's gone on I'm more and more convinced there's a...path to getting [him] extended - Ozzy & Keats (8/26)
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Alex DeBrincat extension becomes critical after Larkin trade request
Bultman didn't stop at flagging the urgency. He said his confidence in an extension actually getting done has grown as the summer's gone on.
"As the summer's gone on I'm more and more convinced there's a path to getting him extended," Bultman said.
That's a notable shift in tone for a front office already dealing with one unresolved star situation in Larkin.
Detroit finished last season 41-31-10, good for 92 points but a rough finish, dropping eight of their final ten games.
Losing DeBrincat to term uncertainty on top of the Larkin drama would leave Detroit managing two major storylines heading into training camp instead of one.
Locking up DeBrincat before camp opens would let Detroit walk into the season focused on one unresolved situation instead of two.
Whether that path Bultman described turns into an actual signed contract remains the only piece nobody's confirmed yet.
Should the Red Wings prioritize extending Alex DeBrincat over resolving the Dylan Larkin situation?
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