The Detroit Red Wings have enough uncertainty surrounding their roster without wondering whether Alex DeBrincat wants to stick around.
According to longtime Red Wings reporter Bob Duff, that question may already have an encouraging answer.
“From talking to Alex at the end of the season, he wants to be here, he’s from Michigan…he likes having his family close,” Duff said during an NHL Network appearance reported by The Hockey News.
For a franchise dealing with an unresolved Dylan Larkin trade request, a leadership transition and another offseason without playoff hockey, hearing that one of its best players actually wants to remain in Detroit qualifies as some badly needed stability.
DeBrincat, 28, is entering the final season of the four-year contract he signed after Detroit acquired him from Ottawa in 2023. PuckPedia lists the deal at a $7.875 million annual cap hit, with DeBrincat eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2027.
He couldn’t have positioned himself much better for his next contract. DeBrincat finished 2025-26 with 41 goals, 44 assists and a career-high 85 points, tying his personal best in goals while establishing new highs in assists and total scoring. Those numbers made him Detroit’s leading scorer and strengthened his case as a player the next front office should view as part of the solution rather than another asset to move.
The local connection isn’t exactly breaking news. DeBrincat grew up in Farmington Hills, cheered for the Red Wings as a kid and specifically wanted Detroit when his time in Ottawa was ending. When he first joined the Wings in 2023, he described playing for his hometown team as a “dream come true” and talked openly about how much being near family meant to him.
Three years later, the hockey fit looks considerably stronger too.
Detroit has already made a major long-term commitment to Lucas Raymond as one of the franchise’s cornerstone forwards. Keeping DeBrincat would give the Wings another proven scorer to build around while younger players continue developing.
That becomes even more important with Larkin’s trade request still unresolved. Detroit cannot know exactly what its top six will look like a year from now, especially if its captain eventually gets moved. Letting another high-end offensive player drift toward free agency would only create another problem for a front office already carrying plenty of them.
None of this means a DeBrincat extension is automatic. Wanting to stay and agreeing on term and money are different conversations, and his career season gives him plenty of leverage.
But the first hurdle apparently isn’t convincing DeBrincat that Detroit is where he wants to play.
For the Red Wings, that is a pretty good place to start.
