NHL insider reveals why DeBrusk won't ask for trade from Canucks
Jake DeBrusk is right near the top of trade boards around the NHL.
The 30-year-old winger is number six on Chris Johnston’s trade board at The Athletic and also features high on Nick Kypreos’s board at Sportsnet, which isn’t too surprising. He’s the second-oldest forward on a rebuilding team; of course he’s a candidate to get traded.
But let’s be crystal clear: Jake DeBrusk has not asked for a trade from the Vancouver Canucks.
‘It was really hard for him’
That was a point of emphasis for NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on Thursday’s episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
“He went through a really hard situation in Boston where he asked out,” said Friedman, drawing a comparison to Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski. “A lot of these guys, when they ask for trades, they want it to stay private. Instead, they get really annoying people […] who report this stuff, and it really turns their lives upside down.”
DeBrusk requested a trade from the Boston Bruins in November of 2021 as his relationship with head coach Bruce Cassidy seemed to deteriorate and his ice time cratered. He later rescinded that trade request after Cassidy was fired and replaced by Jim Montgomery following the 2021-22 season.
While DeBrusk did receive criticism for the trade request, and it likely made the rest of his 2021-22 season somewhat awkward when no trade was forthcoming, Friedman is a little off base in blaming “annoying people” — ie. the media — for reporting on the request.
DeBrusk’s agent, Rick Valette, is the one who went public with the trade request.
Still, it’s understandable why DeBrusk would want to avoid a similar debacle.
“You’re out there, and you can take a real beating,” said Friedman. “I think DeBrusk, when he was in Boston and he went through that process, I think it was really hard for him.”
‘It hasn’t worked out for DeBrusk’
Robert Edwards/Imagn Images
The situation in Vancouver is not what DeBrusk signed up for when he came to the Canucks as a free agent in 2024.
At that time, the Canucks were coming off a stunning 2023-24 season where they finished first in the Pacific Division, had six players and their head coach at the All-Star Game, and came one game away from eliminating the Edmonton Oilers and going to the Western Conference Final.
DeBrusk thought he was joining a young team on the upswing with the opportunity to play with one of two 100-point centres: J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson. Instead, everything fell apart, including Miller and Pettersson themselves.
Now, DeBrusk is a 30-year-old winger who surely wants to get back to the playoffs and have an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup.
“I don’t think anyone here is being immature or rude or trying to throw darts at anyone to say it hasn’t worked out the way anyone has expected,” said Friedman. “It hasn’t worked out for DeBrusk, and it hasn’t worked out for the Canucks.
“I just think DeBrusk, after what he went through in Boston, he doesn’t want to do that again. He wants to put on the best public face he can; he wants to help the Canucks the best way he can.”
“I think the Canucks would do it”
Winslow Townson/Imagn Images
While DeBrusk hasn’t requested a trade, there seems to be a mutual understanding that he wouldn’t say no to one.
“I think everybody understands that if there was another opportunity or there was somewhere for him to go, I think he would welcome it and I think the Canucks would do it,” said Friedman.
The key is how the Canucks and their rookie general manager, Ryan Johnson, deal with the situation.
“I think it’s really important for DeBrusk that this is handled in a certain way,” said Friedman. “There was a rumour going around last year at the Olympics that he’d asked for a trade, and that wasn’t true.”
“Whatever happens here, [DeBrusk] wants it to happen properly and with nobody thinking that [he’s] bailing on the team,” added Friedman. “Because these guys, they do worry about stuff like that.”
DeBrusk’s contract complicates potential trades
If a trade opportunity does come up this season, DeBrusk has the final say.
DeBrusk is in the third year of his seven-year contract and still has a no-movement clause this season. That gives him full control of his destination in a potential trade.
Starting next season, DeBrusk will instead have a modified no-trade clause that will allow him to specify a 15-team no-trade list, essentially allowing him to restrict his destination to teams likely to make the playoffs.
The remaining term on DeBrusk’s contract will be a potential sticking point in trade negotiations, as he still has four years remaining after this season at a cap hit of $5.5 million.
With the rising salary cap, however, that’s a fairly reasonable dollar amount for a top-six forward who has consistently scored 20+ goals per season.
This season, DeBrusk has three goals and eight points through 12 games, on pace for 21 goals and 55 points.