Trade completed between the Ottawa Senators and Blackhawks: It ultimately granted Chicago their star

The Chicago Blackhawks sent Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators in 2022.

The deal, we thought, was worth it considering the return (7th OA in 2022, Kevin Korchinski). The second-round pick (39 OA) would end up being center Paul Ludwinski.

While Kevin Korchinski is a future NHL defenseman, he still remains in the AHL and hasn't been a huge help during his time in a Blackhawks uniform.

The 2022 and 2023 seasons would consist of, despite the Blackhawks team's which would underperform significantly, considering the loss of DeBrincat, a former 40-goal scorer.

The next two seasons, the Blackhawks would miss his 160 goals in 368 games. A void left in the offense, which neither Max Domi, Jason Dickinson, nor Tyler Johnson would be able to fill as the rebuild continued unabated.

Domi would lead the team in points in 2022-23 with 49, but would fail to achieve even a significant amount of production that DeBrincat could in Chicago.

As a result, the Blackhawks would win only 26 games and end the year with 59 points, leading to their lottery 1st-round selection of Connor Bedard.

By virtue of being terrible, the Blackhawks found their next generation superstar, and all it cost was Alex DeBrincat.

Since his arrival in Chicago, Bedard has scored a total of 128 points in 150 games for the Blackhawks.

While we eagerly await Paul Ludwinski and Kevin Korchinski to develop into the NHL players they're meant to be.