NHL Trade Talk: Kings, Jets, Canucks Amongst DeBrusk Suitors

As of 1 PM ET, numerous NHL sources continued to tell Boston Hockey Now that Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk will be traded before the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 PM ET.

According to those sources, the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipeg Jets were making pushes to acquire the 24-year-old winger from the Bruins. It’s no secret that DeBrusk wants to go home and play for the Edmonton Oilers, but there wasn’t much buzz out of Edmonton regarding the disgruntled Bruins winger on Tuesday.

With just under five hours to go until the NHL Trade Deadline, the Bruins announced that they had signed DeBrusk to a two-year, $8 million contract extension. However, within minutes of that announcement, DeBrusk’s agent, Rick Vallette, let it be known through TSN Insider Pierre LeBrun that his client had not rescinded his trade request made back in November.

Jake DeBrusk still wants to be traded but the hope now is that his extension helps to facilitate a move. https://t.co/oK8nkiybTJ

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 21, 2022

That should come as no surprise after Villette told LeBrun the Bruins had given him permission to tell interested NHL trade suitors that they were willing to sign Jake DeBrusk to a contract extension so that the acquiring tea wouldn’t have to deal with meeting DeBrusk’s qualifying offer. Per these sources, the Canucks, Jets and Kings are all teams that have kept tabs on DeBrusk’s trade situation and have scouted him numerous times since LeBrun reported the extension and sign and trade possibility. Now with the NHL trade deadline under two hours away, will one of them reach an agreement on a trade return the Bruins like?

The Bruins have repeatedly been linked to Jets forward and impending unrestricted free agent Andrew Copp, Canucks forwards Brock Boeser, Conor Graland and J.T. Miller, though the latter seems like a long-shot and would cot way more than just DeBrusk. As for the Kings, one source told BHN to keep an eye on 28-year-old, 6-foot, 180-pound forward Alex Iafallo, who is in the first season of a four-year contract that carries a $4 million cap hit.

DeBrusk was on the ice for his team’s game-day skate at the Bell Centre on Monday and skating on the first line with Jack Studnicka and Brad Marchand.