Damn there are going to be some very disappointed Blackhawks fans when DeBrincat does get traded for just slightly better than what Minny got for Fiala.... Lets also not forget about the report that Debrincat has alredy let it be known that he doesnt want to stay in Chicago if they plan to go full rebuild mode... this being publicly known hurts the Hawks chance of getting an over the top deal for him.

Fiala and Reinhart (pre trade) did not come close to matching Cat's career numbers they don't. The body of work of a player means as much or more then just one season.

Cat = .834ppg, .435gpg
Fiala = .675ppg, .296gpg

That's not close and Cat is head and shoulders above Fiala not to mention, Cat plays both ends of the ice, is more physical on top of it.

Regarding Reinhart, we are talking about trade values (you brought him up) and you can't use this past season as part of your analysis and then argue Cat's trade value is similar to what Reinhart's was...that's called inflating values to justify your point. Reinhart's numbers this past season have no value against what he was traded for. So, prior to Reinhart being traded; .649ppg, .134gpg...way off of Cat's numbers. Sorry man, but these guys aren't as good as Cat and it's not particularly close unless you cherry pick their best year (post trade for Reinhart) and compare it to one year of Cat but that's not how player value works.

That's wrong. It's the other way around. Kane said that not Cat. Kane said if Cat is traded then he's not sure he wants to stick around.

I didn't cherry pick any years, I took 2020s onwards for all of them. Yeah Debrincat posted better numbers like five years ago but it shouldn't have as big of an impact today compared to the more recent past.

You could also make an argument that Fiala and Reinhart have upgraded their play from since then but Debrincat has stayed where he was. Including his best year from quite a distant past is more cherry picking than what I did.

You did cherry pick. How does Reinhart's past season have any implication on what his value was at the time of the trade which you are using as justification why Cat should get less? That's literally hysterical!

Cat just posted his best year based on points and goals not to mention he's a much more complete player now then he was earlier on.

You're trying to paddle up river without an oar buddy

Fine, actually that Reinhart one is a fair point, his performance in Florida did not impact his trade value, but your condescending tone is completely unnecessary.

Debrincat has probably been the most complete player out of all of them in past 3-4 years, but honestly it doesn't matter that much, because what Reinhart or Fiala did in 2018 or something like that had little to no impact on what they received in trade in 2021 or 2022 respectively. And I'd argue the same applies for Debrincat as well. The more important factor for them is what they have done post-pandemic.

Ultimately this does not change my argument. Recent past production between the three is very similar, and the advantage in value DeBrincat has almost fully comes from the fact he's still under contract. He's not going to be twice as valuable as those two were in terms of trade return, I can bet almost anything for that.

Let's look at the past 2 seasons
Fiala = 132 games, 53 goals, 125 points
Cat = 134 games, 73 goals, 134 points

And Cat is the more complete player. The advantage to Cat is he's simply a better, elite, player plus he's still under contract.

If a 9 point difference and 20 goal difference because of playing one of the greatest playmakers of all time is the difference between elite and not elite, then yes.

We could also take in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons to include Reinhart during his time close to the pandemic close and what he produced in Buffalo.

Debrincat = 122 games, 50 goals, 101 points
Fiala = 114 games, 43 goals, 94 points
Reinhart = 123 games, 47 goals, 90 points

And for argument's sake

Eichel = 89 games, 38 goals, 97 points, who was also traded for after this timeframe, granted a while later because of his injury situation.

If I had to choose between one of the players, yes DeBrincat is the best, but the performance/value difference is not that major, and I'd argue Debrincat had the best players to play with during this timeframe.

What's more interesting is how similar Cat and Eichel are.

Needless to say, ask LD or McDavid who they prefer on a line with them and there answer will almost certainly be Cat. Which is also why Edmonton would probably value Cat more then the others. Also why, Chicago, unlike Minnesota or Buffalo, has zero reason to trade Cat unless it's an offer they can't refuse. It's going to take a to get Cat, it starts with a team's #1 or #2 prospect, a good young player, and a 1st rounder. In the case of Edmonton, Holloway or Broberg likely, JP or Yamamoto, the 2022 or 2023 1st to get the conversation going.

I can assure you that it is not an overpayment and CHI would decline that offer without thinking twice about it.

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This comment aged like milk

I believe i said somewhere on this thread there will be alot of disappointed Blackhawk fans when DeBrincat gets dealt for just slightly better than what Minny got for Fiala.

Lmao if you truly think you're getting almost 4 firsts worth of stuff for one year of DeBrincat before his big QO kicks in you're setting yourself for a massive disappointment.

I can't recall a trade in modern NHL history with such a return (2010s onwards).