Report: DeBrusk Still Wants Trade; Bruins Ready And Willing

With Jake DeBrusk’s value on the NHL trade market seemingly soaring through the roof, his agent made it clear, via TSN Insider Pierre LeBrun, Tuesday, that there has not been a change of heart from the Boston Bruins winger on his desire to be traded.

“After speaking with DeBrusk’s agent, Rick Valette, there has not been a change of heart,” Lebrun reported on TSN Insider Trading Tuesday evening. “This means the trade demand is still in place for DeBrusk, to hopefully, in his case, get a trade out of Boston by the March 21 trade deadline.”

After DeBrusk’s hat trick and an assist for a career-high four-point game in a 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, DeBrusk became the hottest name on the NHL trade circuit Tuesday. However, with the Bruins entering Tuesday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks on a five-game win streak and Debrusk registering at least a point (5g, 2a) in each of those wins, speculation grew that maybe the Bruins may just decide to keep DeBrusk until at least the offseason.

However, not only did Valette squash any speculation that Jake DeBrusk may want to stay with the Bruins, he made it clear to LeBrun that the Bruins also remain committed to moving their hottest player at the moment. So much so, that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has granted Valette permission to tell interested NHL trade suitors that the Bruins are willing to negotiate an extension for DeBrusk, who is set to become an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in July.

“The other thing Valette talked about is that he has informed teams, by the way, he has permission to talk directly to other teams, that they’re willing to work on an extension to help facilitate a deal,” LeBrun said. “A lot of teams are concerned about the $4.4 million qualifying offer to retain his rights this summer, maybe [if there’s] an extension at a cheaper price everyone will go home happy.”

So as DeBrusk seemingly has become the right wing the Bruins were seeking when they moved David Pastrnak to the second line to play with Erik Haula and Taylor Hall back in January, it appears that both DeBrusk and the Bruins remain focused on finding a new team for the 2015 first round pick on the NHL trade market.

“The bottom line is if he keeps scoring and playing a bigger role, it might help the Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney get better offers than they’ve had to date,” LeBrun concluded.