Reported asking price for Blackhawks' Alex DeBrincat is absolutely absurd

It was a trying season in 2021-22 for the Chicago Blackhawks, who not only struggled on the ice and once again missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but also after the sexual assault scandal that rocked the organization after former forward Kyle Beach revealed himself as "John Doe" in the lawsuit against them. 

However, one of the bright spots on the ice this season has been the play of forward Alex DeBrincat, who has already matched his previous career high with 41 goals and 37 assists while appearing in all 82 regular season games. The Farmington, MI native has one more year remaining on his contract before he can become a restricted free-agent. 

Of course, next season is also the final year in the identical contracts of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the latter of which has openly pouted a number of occasions of having to go through a rebuild as well as lamenting a lack of communication between the players and the new management that took over after former GM Stan Bowman resigned in shame and disgrace.

What would the asking price that current general manager Kyle Davidson would accept in a potential deal for the player affectionally known as "the Cat"? If this tweet from NHL Network Chicago correspondent Al Cimaglia is to be believed, the asking price is nothing short of ridiculous. 

"I have heard the 'ask' for DeBrincat is basically three 1st-Rd Picks-one for this year and 2 more coming in previous years + a high-end younger player who can play in Chicago this season," he wrote on Twitter. "That's a big ask and if it stays that way DeBrincat could definitely be here in October."

Near the end of the season, DeBrincat said that he's not spoken to management regarding an extension. 

“We’ll talk maybe a little in the future, but that’s their decision. It doesn’t really affect me,” he said. “I’m still young. I want to help bring this team to the playoffs and win. I’m here to do whatever I can and obviously try to help win games.