Ottawa Senators Rumors: Team Will Keep RFA Through Next Season

The Ottawa Senators appear to be keeping Alex DeBrincat at all costs after this season. He has been a key member of their top-six, even if he didn't score 40 goals as advertised. He's been a permanent fixture on the second line and has 27 goals and 66 points on the season.

General manager Pierre Dorian made it clear that the Senators were keeping DeBrincat through the trade deadline, even if they were out of it. Now the pending RFA is going to be spending at least another season with Ottawa. Bruce Garrioch reported that the Senators will qualify DeBrincat to his $9 million qualifying offer, even if they don't have a long-term deal in place. This will at least give the Senators another year of the 25-year-old and give them a much better chance at making the postseason.

The Senators will only have DeBrincat under contract for one more year if this occurs, but they will also have that extra year to negotiate a contract extension with him that is around what Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Josh Norris are earning per year.