The Chicago Blackhawks traded promising winger Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators for a surprisingly small return.
Yes, they received a top-ten pick in tonight’s NHL Draft, along with two other lesser selections, but DeBrincat is a rising star; just 24, he made his first All-Star roster this season en route to tallying 41 goals and 37 assists.
The odds of finding a player with any of these picks who will be better than him over the next ten years feels slim, yet that’s exactly the decision Chicago made.
Full trade:
To Chicago:
7th overall
39th overall
2024 3rd round pickTo Ottawa:
Alex DeBrincat@DailyFaceoff— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 7, 2022
It was the Blackhawks announcing the move on Instagram that led to the most widely circulated reply, though, from none other than the city of Chicago itself.
View this post on Instagram
Replying to that post with a simple “L”, the official account for Chicago racked up over 7,000 likes in a true display of populist democracy in action.
Let’s hope whichever social media manager made the call on this one gets rewarded for it, because, honestly: it’s a bad trade! Especially considering the possible reasoning was “GM wants draft pick at all costs, ignoring relative asset valuation.”
.@JamisonCoyle & @FriedgeHNIC discuss the deal sending Alex DeBrincat to the Sens.
Tune in now for our #NHLDraft coverage leading up to the 1st pick! pic.twitter.com/7ZxGw9tE0G
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) July 7, 2022
If ever a faceless city account is going to pile on the home team, it might as well be for a move like this one.

About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.
Recent Posts
DiJonai Carrington responds to Emmanuel Acho’s criticism of ‘white privilege’ post
"I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds."
Scott Van Pelt decries college football preseason rankings in transfer era: ‘You’re selling stories’
"Look at last year as an example of where teams began the season, and rankings, and it will happen again."
AI is even coming for sports journalism jobs in Madden 27
Plus, for the first time, real NFL coordinators.
Michael Wilbon: ESPN panicked over Michael Jordan joining NBA on NBC
"I got such a kick out of that NBC release"
Michael Kay laments Yankee fans not showing up for Old-Timers’ Day: ‘It’s been a problem’
"I'm not here to scold you"
Sophie Cunningham reportedly shopping tell-all book
Cunningham's request to "get back to basketball" might be temporary.