Quoting: Shaners79
Is DeBrincat not working out for the Sens?
He hasn't had a top 6 C all season. Handful of games with Norris, even less than that with Stützle. Most common Cs have been Pinto, who is good, but primarily a finisher as well and clearly in over his head as a full time 2C and Derick Brassard, who shouldn't even be an every day forward.
The whole team has been absolutely cursed with terrible finishing all season, but DeBrincat has stood out given his pedigree. I think his play has been really good, it's just that he's gone from a 15.5% shooter in Chicago to a 9% guy. You can expect an elite finisher like him to regress back to that career average eventually, but it's been pretty tough to swallow this season, especially when that dip is a difference in 10 would be goals for him. It's unfair to pin the season all on DeBrincat, but it is fair to say that if Cat was sitting with 25 goals right now, those extra 10 goals could have been the difference between Ottawa being in or out of the playoff hunt. Again, far from the only player with brutal finishing this year, but he does stick out because he is so good.
Personally, unless you're able to bring in a bonafide top RD a la Rasmus Andersson (spoilers, no GM is trading that for a winger) I don't think trading him is a good idea at all. Maybe if there's a scenario where you can swap him for Timo Meier, either directly (doubt SJS wants that) or by trading Cat and flipping that return in a package for Meier, that could make sense.