Welcome Dominik Kubalik and Donovan Sebrango! Find everything you need to know about the new pieces coming to Ottawa!
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The Alex DeBrincat trade is finally here. He has been sent to the Detroit Redwings in a package that brings Ottawa forward Dominik Kubalik, defenceman Donovan Sebrango, a 2024 conditional first-round pick belonging to the Boston Bruins, and a 2024 4th-round pick. In this article, I will be breaking down the trade and the pieces that have come to the Ottawa Senators.
Dominik Kubalik
The main roster piece coming to the Senators in this trade was Dominik Kubalik. Kubalik is a 27-year-old winger who just came off a season that saw him score 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points in 81 games. He is signed at $2.5 million for one more season before he becomes a UFA.
In an ideal scenario, Kubalik will play on the third line with Shane Pinto and Mathieu Joseph. Similarly to DeBrincat, Kubalik is a shoot-first winger whose “A” game is putting the puck in the net. While he will not be as impactful as DeBrincat was, he is still a solid middle-six option.
Dominik Kubalik may remind Sens fans of a certain centreman who will be returning this season. This centre is the one and only, Josh Norris. Similarly to Norris, Dominik Kubalik is a player who loves to take one-timers and is very effective at doing so. Many of his goals from this season with Detroit were one-timers from in and around the net.
While Sens fans should not expect a guy who will put up 30 goals and 60 to 70 points, they can expect someone reliable. Kubalik can give you between 15-25 goals and 40-50 points in a season. At a cap hit of $2.5 million, he will likely outplay his contractual value.
Donovan Sebrango
The second player to come back as part of the trade was Donovan Sebrango. Sebrango is a former third-round pick who split time this season between the ECHL and the AHL. Sens fans should not be expecting a game-breaker in Sebrango, but there is some upside that he could be a serviceable defenceman in the future.
Sebrango was a member of the 2021 Canadian World Juniors team, where he played with fellow Senators prospects Ridly Greig and Zack Ostapchuk. Sebrango is a very underrated piece of this trade.
Sebrango is also an Ottawa native, so there is a nice storyline with him coming back home.
First and Fourth Round Picks
The final pieces of the DeBrincat trade were the two draft picks Detroit sent Ottawa. These included Boston’s 2024 conditional first-round pick and Detroit’s 2024 fourth-round pick.
The condition on the first-round pick is that the Red Wings can send either their 2024 first or Boston’s 2024 first to Ottawa. But if the Bruins 2024 first is a top-10 pick, Boston has the option of keeping that pick and transferring the 2025 pick to Detroit, which will in turn transfer to Ottawa.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I think this trade is fair for the Senators. I don’t think they did exceptionally, but it could’ve been much worse under the circumstances. Kubalik is an impactful player, even though he is not of the same caliber as DeBrincat. However, with the return of Josh Norris next season, I am confident that Sens will be able to replace and exceed DeBrincat’s production with those two players.
The draft compensation will help recoup some assets that can bolster the Sens prospect pool. The Senators currently do not have many prospects for future help, and the 2024 first should help refill that cabinet.
Assuming everybody is healthy, the Senators are a better team today than they were last season. The next step will be to see if they can retain the services of Kubalik for longer than one year.
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