NHL Rumors: Ceiling For Alex DeBrincat's Next Contract

Alex DeBrincat is proving that he wasn't a great player just because he was playing alongside Patrick Kane in Chicago. He is still a very good player and able to score on the second line of the Ottawa Senators.

DeBrincat is in the last year of a three-year, $6.4 million deal that sees him become a RFA if he doesn't have a new contract by free agency. The Senators will still have control over his future, but would like to lock him up long-term. If they didn't, they wouldn't have traded a fair amount to bring him in for this season.

Shawn Simpson thinks the ceiling for DeBrincat's new contract should be $9 million. I think this is still too high considering Brady Tkachuk is currently the highest paid player on the team at $8.2 million AAV. Though DeBrincat is very good and has proven he deserves a lot of money on his next deal because he is a two-time 40-goal scorer at age 25, it wouldn't look good for the Senators.

DeBrincat would surely be able to get $9 million per year from another team and that could be a route the Senators are willing to explore if he won't budge on the value of his next contract. But he fits right into the core group of players the Senators have and is a player who will help the team reach the next level.