When news came out recently that Jake DeBrusk had requested a trade from the Boston Bruins, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. The 25-year-old forward had seen his place in the Bruins lineup change dramatically since his outstanding 27-goal season in 2018-19, to the point of a healthy scratch over the weekend. What wasn’t clear is whether there was really a ton of interest in the struggling winger, especially because of the healthy salary that he comes with.
DeBrusk earns $4.85M in the second season of a two-year deal which carries a $3.675M cap hit, which means he’ll also be due a $4.41M qualifying offer in the summer just to retain his RFA rights (and risk arbitration). He won’t be a cheap player for the next team he plays for, meaning he’ll have to produce much more than the eight goals and 20 points he has since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Still, it appears as though that previous production and obvious skill set are intriguing to teams around the league. Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet tweets that the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes are all among the teams that have expressed interest in the Bruins winger. Ryan Rishaug of TSN, who first broke the news of a trade request, tweeted earlier Tuesday that as many as eight teams have reached out to the Bruins. The level of interest isn’t clear, and other reports, including one from Sara Civian of The Athletic, seem to dispute even those teams listed. There is also the issue of the salary cap for almost all of the real contenders in the league, meaning a move would be even more difficult to pull off.
For what it’s worth, DeBrusk will be back in the Bruins lineup Tuesday night as Brad Marchand deals with his suspension. General manager Don Sweeney did confirm the trade request to reporters Tuesday, explaining that the disgruntled forward would “prefer a new opportunity.”
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