Last offseason, Alex DeBrincat was the prized addition of the Detroit Red Wings. He was brought in to provide a spark to a struggling offense. The end results however are a mixed bag.
DeBrincat started as hot as anyone in the league, making Detroit officials feel good about the signing. However after a hot start, his production hit a cold spell, as did his Red Wings team.
While DeBrincat finished with strong offensive numbers of 27 goals, 40 assists (a career high) for 67 points, his season was marred with offensive lulls where his scoring dried up. This lack of consistency in what he wants to be better at.
"Same way as the team I feel like," he added of his personal performance in particular. "A lot of ups and downs I think. I would've loved to be more consistent.
DeBrincat is clearly looking for more consistency out of himself and his team after his first year with the Wings ended without a playoff appearance.
In his end of the season press conference, Red Wings Head Coach had praise for DeBrincat this year:
"Alex was great," Lalonde said. "Obviously his goal total, I think he wanted more of it. At the same time, he got us a lot of goals, and even through some of those stretches where he wasn't scoring, he had chances, so I wasn't concerned. What I'm excited about Alex DeBrincat is, he went from a -31 player last year—and our win total, point total wasn't a whole lot different than what he experienced last year—he's a plus player this year.
DeBrincat's much improved plus/minus shows his improvement in his while away from the puck, a trait that his coach this year appreciated almost as much as goal scoring.
All things considered, with DeBrincat's above average offensive season coupled with his much improved defense and plus/minus, the Red Wings have to be happy with his first season, while looking at it as one to build on and be even better in his encore performance in 24-25.
