Jake DeBrusk's name is back in trade rumors, and the Vancouver Canucks front office isn't exactly shutting it down.
Insider David Pagnotta said Monday on the Sekeres and Price Podcast that moving DeBrusk remains the long-term plan for both sides.
"I still think the end goal here for him and for the Canucks is to eventually move him," Pagnotta said. "It's just a matter of finding the right package."
DeBrusk closed out the season with 42 points on 23 goals and 19 assists across 81 games, carrying a cap hit of 5,500,000 dollars.
But he didn't fade down the stretch. He piled up 8 points over his final 10 games, including 7 goals in that stretch alone.
His last five games were even sharper. Four goals, four points, and a plus-minus that actually settled at even for once.
That kind of finish doesn't scream sell-low. It's the kind of run that muddies whatever price tag Vancouver had in mind.
DeBrusk's hot finish complicates Vancouver's asking price
The Canucks finished 25-49-8 this season, dead last in the league standings with a minus-100 goal differential.
Manny Malhotra takes over as head coach this summer, inheriting a rebuild with DeBrusk sitting as one of the roster's more movable veterans.
Pagnotta wasn't shy about the uncertainty either, admitting nobody around the league is totally sure what Vancouver wants back.
"Again, I'm not sure what the ask is right now," he said. "If the Canucks find the right deal, they're going to pull the trigger on it."
Trading a 23-goal winger off a strong finish for futures is a tough sell no matter how a front office frames it.
It's a bit like trying to sell a car with a full tank of gas. The timing just feels off.
Read between those lines and it sounds like patience is the current strategy, not urgency.
For a team that finished last in the NHL, patience is a luxury that can evaporate fast if the return market softens before a deal gets made.
Should the Canucks trade Jake DeBrusk this summer even off his hot finish?
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