Alex DeBrincat’s camp responds to being blamed for lack of trade: ‘That’s the

For the past several weeks, Alex DeBrincat’s camp has been steadfastly quiet as rumours swirled around his future in Ottawa.

But on Monday evening, DeBrincat’s agent Jeff Jackson wanted to address a storyline that is gaining traction.

After a headline in Postmedia stated, “Alex DeBrincat’s contract demands holding up trade from Ottawa Senators,” Jackson called the report “entirely false and without merit” in a text message to The Athletic.

Jackson wanted to clarify the circumstances around his client, which he believes have been mischaracterized in recent media reports.

“As far as I have been advised, there has been no agreement of any kind on an actual trade involving Alex and I would require that before entering into an actual negotiation,” wrote Jackson. “We are waiting patiently for that to happen.”

And when it comes to the notion that DeBrincat and his agent are acting as a barrier to the sniper’s trade out of Ottawa, Jackson was very pointed in his assessment of the situation.

“Agents and players don’t make trades … that’s the GM’s job,” wrote Jackson.

DeBrincat does not hold a no-trade clause in his contract, so technically the Senators are free to send him to any club in the NHL — without requiring DeBrincat’s approval.

However, since he is entering the final season of being a restricted free agent, DeBrincat’s value is somewhat limited at this juncture. If the Senators can work out a sign-and-trade option for DeBrincat, it would allow them to maximize their return. But if they trade him with only a year remaining on his contract, their return will be diluted.

“Obviously, the team is going to give you more if they know they have him for more than a year,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said last week. “So in our situation, yes, it would be ideal.”

The stalemate between DeBrincat and the Senators has already passed two key pressure points. The first was the NHL Draft in Nashville last week, where Dorion appeared underwhelmed by some of the offers he received for the two-time 40-goal-scoring winger.

“We’re not going to trade him for pennies on the dollar,” Dorion said on June 28. “We feel he’s a really good asset.”

Dorion was hoping a second pressure point would be created with the opening of the free agency period on July 1. If teams struck out on landing scoring help via the free-agent market, Dorion was optimistic some might circle back to discuss DeBrincat.

“By July 1st, I think we’ll have a good idea,” Dorion added on June 28. “Maybe teams that aren’t in right now could be in if they target players they don’t acquire.”

But July 1 came and went, with no significant offers on the table for DeBrincat.

“Nothing new on Alex DeBrincat,” Dorion told reporters during his July 1 media session in Ottawa — although he said there were “varying degrees of interest” in the winger.

Now both parties are waiting for the third pressure point on…