Alex DeBrincat pushes back on false narrative

We could be seeing some fireworks tomorrow afternoon, as two division rivals are getting together for the first time this season and for the first time since a blockbuster trade went down over the summer.

As you remember, the Detroit Red Wings acquired goal scoring forward and Michigan native Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Dominik Kubalik, and was immediately signed to a four-year contract extension. And so far, the move has paid off tremendously for Detroit with DeBrincat having lit the lamp five times so far in his first four games with the team.

However, DeBrincat drew the ire of Senators fans and media over the summer for what they perceived as an admission on his part that he didn't want to play in Ottawa and therefore wasn't giving 100% of his effort. 

"A lot of it is different looks in different situations," DeBrincat said last month during Red Wings Training Camp. "I’ve got to focus a little more on bearing down when I get my chances. I think last year I gave up a lot of chances, maybe got lazy on it or whatever it may be, hit a post, stuff like that. I think a lot of it was like that. I’m pretty comfortable getting back to that form and obviously, we have a lot of great players here to play with, so I’ll just try to find the space out there and they’ll get me the puck."

Ahead of the game tomorrow, DeBrincat said that he doesn't anticipate getting the warmest of welcomes from Senators fans who will be in attendance at Canadian Tire Centre - but doesn't want the fans there to think that the situation was as it was presented. 

“Over the summer when a lot of that stuff was coming out, ” DeBrincat said. “I saw a little bit of it. It is what it is I think. I know what happened behind closed doors and what the situation was. A lot of the stuff coming out wasn’t exactly how it played out. It is what it is. They’ll write what they want to write. That’s fine with me.”

DeBrincat was a member of the Senators for the pair of games in early March against Detroit that Ottawa won by a combined score of 12-3 and essentially ended whatever hopes the Red Wings had of a playoff spot. 

“I think we were a couple of points behind the Wings at that point,” DeBrincat said. “Back to back on home ice was very important to us. Those were important games for both but I think we kinda hunkered down harder and played with a little more pace and obviously won those games.  That was good but I think we can take a lot from that. They’re not easy to play in their building. We can go in there and if we have a strong start we can hopefully take one from them.”

“I definitely think there’s a rivalry there,” DeBrincat continued. “Each team wants to prove they’re better than the other. We play them a couple of times and obviously division matchups, they’re always important. I know being on the other side of it we were definitely fired up to play the Wings. They’re definitely important games to kind of mark yourself throughout the league.”

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