The 2024-25 NHL season was the second in the Detroit Red Wings tenure of Farmington Hills, Mich. native Alex DeBrincat, whom the Red Wings acquired from the Ottawa Senators in 2023.
His first season with the club began with a torrid scoring pace, as DeBrincat lit the lamp nine times in his first 10 games in a Detroit uniform. However, his scoring pace cooled off considerably, especially down the stretch.
He managed only two goals over 28 combined games in January and March, finishing the season with 27 tallies. Thankfully, his scoring rebounded significantly in his second campaign.
DeBrincat recorded 39 goals for the Red Wings in the 2024-25 season, his highest total since netting 41 with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021-22. He also contributed 31 assists for 70 points, marking his best overall output since that same season in Chicago.
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Like many of his teammates, DeBrincat acknowledged the positive impact that the coaching change in late December from Derek Lalonde to Todd McLellan made on the Red Wings, and he expects a full campaign of McLellan behind the bench to pay dividends in the long run.
“I think it’s a big difference,” DeBrincat said after the Red Wings cleaned out their dressing room on April 19. “I’ve been through a couple coaching changes midseason, and I think when you’re able to get that full training camp, he gets to implement his systems, and we just get to have the message right from Day 1. It’s a big difference. I think it’ll be good for us to get that training camp with him under our belts, and obviously we’re comfortable with him now, we know what to expect, and there’s going to be no surprises come September.”
Along with his former Blackhawks teammate Patrick Kane, DeBrincat seemed to find a groove playing on the team’s second forward line centered by rookie Marco Kasper, a line that will likely remain intact heading into the upcoming season.
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When Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings in April 2019 to take over the role of general manager, he didn’t have much to work with in terms of enticing prospects, but since then he has built one of the most highly regarded prospect pools in the NHL.
For the Red Wings to bring Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to Little Caesars Arena for the first time in the venue’s existence next spring, they’ll need DeBrincat to duplicate his performance of last season and remain a constant threat to appear on the scoresheet.
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