Insider Trading: 'Bold and impressive move' by Sens to acquire DeBrincat

 Over the last couple of years, the Ottawa Senators have been moving assets out, but this year they move a major asset in by acquiring Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks.  Pierre LeBrun: The Blackhawks had told teams within the last 48 hours that they were absolutely serious about moving DeBrincat and getting a first-round pick among other assets, so it’s been a bit of a pressure point in that. As far as the Senators, we know that they tried on Kevin Fiala but he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings instead [from the Minnesota Wild], then they switched gears here. When it comes to DeBrincat, this is also sending a message to other potential free agents around the league, notably as we reported earlier today Claude Giroux as an unrestricted free agent. We know that Ottawa is among the options potentially for him when the market opens on Wednesday. What better way to send a message if you’re Ottawa than adding DeBrincat?

Darren Dreger: Bold and impressive move by [general manager] Pierre Dorion of the Senators. What’s interesting and a bit of a twist was that there was no contract discussion with the DeBrincat camp prior to making that deal. Now is that surprising? A little bit to some around the National Hockey League because after this season DeBrincat is one year away from unrestricted free agency. The flip side to that is if you’re buying his UFA status, you’re paying big term and you’re paying big money. So, therein lies the deterrent.

But the Senators aren’t done yet. The belief is that Dorion is looking for a defenceman and I know there’s been some dialogue for Jacob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes. Do they have enough assets left to pull that off? That may happen after the draft, if at all.  After trading