Boston Bruins: Three Landing Spots For Jake DeBrusk
The Boston Bruins could trade Jake DeBrusk at any time. There are a few teams that stand out from the rest in a potential trade.
Jake DeBrusk has been in the news a lot since the start of the season. It was reported early on that he was interested in a trade from the Boston Bruins, and until a trade is worked out he is in Boston playing hockey.
There are a lot of potential trade options for DeBrusk and the Bruins. As of Tuesday morning, the Bruins are 22-11-2 which is fourth-best in the Atlantic Division. Right now they are holding the final wild card and with only 35 games played they have a lot of ground to make up with games in hand.
The Bruins are the fourth-best team in the Atlantic Division behind the big three Toronto, Tampa, and Florida, but if Boston can find themselves in a wild card spot facing off in the Metropolitan Division bracket come playoff time then anything can happen for the Bruins.
This season is not over for the Bruins and a trade involving Jake DeBrusk could just about raise the stakes for them. Boston has been pretty hot as of late. They find themselves on a five-game win streak and are 8-2-0 in their last ten games.
Because of how good they have been making a trade involving DeBrusk might not be at the forefront of their plans right now, but it honestly couldn’t hurt to try it.
DeBrusk has played in 30 games this year putting up five goals and five assists during that time. He is averaging around 13:56 minutes of ice time a night, not bad for a third or fourth-line guy on this team.
Making a move on DeBrusk wouldn’t hurt if the team gets something good in return. Let’s go over some options for the Bruins.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been struggling and are desperate to get better offensively. While Ken Holland has been steadfast that this group is going to figure it out, this group just has not figured it out yet.
Making a move might be the only option for Edmonton and that is a situation that Boston could take advantage of. Boston could add a solid depth player like Kailer Yamamoto or even Tyler Benson along with a draft pick for DeBrusk as long as they hold back some salary on a move.
I will admit this is not the best win-now mode move for Boston, but it would secure some solid assets on a player the Bruins are actively looking to move.
The salary cap side of things might not be the easiest situation in a trade like this, but the Bruins could potentially work it out.
The Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes have the cap space to add Jake DeBrusk and potentially move him again ahead of the deadline to bring in more prospects and picks.
Arizona has Lawson Crouse, a heck of a young player on a better deal than DeBrusk that can play a similar role. He has size and plays physical which wouldn’t hurt in the bottom six in Boston.
The Bruins would have a heck of a third line with Coyle, Steen, and Crouse and a move like that would definitely make them deeper for the playoffs.
Crouse is another player on the final year of his contract, but he probably isn’t asking for as big of a pay raise compared to what DeBrusk is going to be asking for this offseason, plus maybe Crouse would give the Bruins a home team discount like other players have in the past.
The Chicago Blackhawks
Truthfully I was not going to put the Blackhawks in this position, I had originally put in a different team but after thinking about it more I realized the Hawks really are the team that can offer the Bruins the best return.
The Bruins and the Hawks have players that need a fresh start in Jake DeBrusk with Boston and Dylan Strome with Chicago. The Hawks have the cap space to retain some salary and give Boston some breathing room to make another deal later this year, and Chicago can give DeBrusk a fresh start on a new team.
Strome is a former third overall pick in 2015 and has put up not-so-great numbers this season. In 26 games he has ten points but maybe the way Chicago has played and the fact that he has gone through two coaches could have played a part in that little success.
Boston would give Strome a fresh start which in the past ended up giving him his best season with 51 points in 58 games. Maybe a fresh start with a new team again could give him similar success through this season.
The Bruins are going to want to move on from DeBrusk, and they should make that trade sooner rather than later as the return probably won’t get better closer to the deadline. Moving DeBrusk to Arizona or Chicago could give them room with the cap to make another trade later, or they could send him to Edmonton to add some solid draft capital and young players for the future.
Boston has options, now they just need to make a deal.