Alex DeBrincat has removed at least one question from an offseason full of them for the Detroit Red Wings.

The 28-year-old forward is entering the final season of his contract, but he made his preference clear Tuesday at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour in Las Vegas.

“My intention is obviously to stay in Detroit,” DeBrincat said.

There had already been indications that DeBrincat wanted to remain with his hometown team. In August, longtime Red Wings reporter Bob Duff said DeBrincat wanted to stay, an encouraging development that was examined as Detroit’s larger roster uncertainty continued. Now the message is coming directly from DeBrincat himself.

DeBrincat Gives Detroit Some Needed Clarity

Keeping him would hardly be a minor decision.

DeBrincat is coming off his best season in Detroit, producing 41 goals and 85 points in 82 games. He led the Red Wings in both categories while becoming an even more important part of an offense that has since lost Patrick Kane and still has Dylan Larkin’s trade request hanging over it.

Detroit’s problem isn’t determining whether DeBrincat wants to stay. It is getting its front office settled enough to start figuring out what staying will cost.

DeBrincat said extension conversations are expected once the Red Wings hire their new general manager. That vacancy has already complicated another major negotiation, with Simon Edvinsson’s camp waiting on Detroit’s GM situation before moving forward.

A Contract Clock Is Quietly Running

There is also a deadline Detroit cannot ignore.

The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement takes effect Sept. 16 and reduces the maximum contract length for players re-signing with their current clubs from eight years to seven. That leaves the Red Wings only a matter of days if they have any interest in preserving the possibility of an eight-year extension with DeBrincat. The contract-term change is part of the new CBA.

An extension does not have to happen before then, and DeBrincat’s career year gives his side plenty of leverage whenever negotiations begin.

Still, Detroit now knows something important before those talks ever take place.

DeBrincat wants to stay.