Vancouver Canucks winger reportedly notifies management he’s open to being moved before the trade deadline
Photo credit: Bob Frid - Imagn Images.
An NHL insider revealed that a Vancouver Canucks forward, who is only in his second year with the club, is reportedly open to a change of scenery before the deadline.
As the Vancouver Canucks proceed with their rebuild, there are going to be some difficult decisions, some of which might not sit well with the fan base, but at the end of the day, the hope is that these moves will put the club in a better position for success for many years to come.
The first big step for the Vancouver Canucks will be the trade deadline, which is nearly two weeks away, and it looks like Patrik Allvin and the team's management staff might be considering some bigger moves than just parting ways with their pending unrestricted free agents, as was their original plan back in late November.
It begs the question, if the Canucks are able to trade a big name with term remaining on their contract, who will it be? Could it be Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland or Jake DeBrusk?
Vancouver Canucks forward reportedly open to change of scenery, insider says
During Wednesday's edition of DFO Rundown, National Hockey League insider Irfaan Gaffar mentioned that Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk is open to a change of scenery leading up to the trade deadline, but a move is far from guaranteed at this point.
Reports of Jake DeBrusk being a bit unsettled date back to late December when Vancouver Canucks head coach Adam Foote made him a healthy scratch for a game against the Seattle Kraken, a decision that the former first rounder called "embarrassing."
"It's embarrassing. I mean, anytime you miss a game, it's, yeah, it's embarrassing. I'd be wrong if I wasn't saying I'd be pissed off right now, but I understand. And I need a jolt too, I obviously haven't been good enough. Anytime that you're in this position, it's lots of things. So, you know, I gotta control what I can do from this point forward and just worry about me. I think there's a lot of different things. The good thing about this situation, in my previous times being scratched, you have a clean slate. So I care less about what has happened." DeBrusk said in late December.
After being made a healthy scratch by the coaching staff, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that several teams have been calling the Canucks about Jake DeBrusk to see what it would cost to acquire him, with five years remaining on his contract beyond the 2025-26 season.
Taking into account what Jake DeBrusk can do when he's at the top of his game and the term attached to his deal, the Vancouver Canucks can't afford to let him go without getting a strong package in return, headlined by either a first round pick or a top-three/top-five prospect in a team's system.
We'll have to wait and see what the coming weeks have in store, but it feels like a trade involving Jake DeBrusk might be easier to complete in the offseason rather than before the deadline on March 6th.
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Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily