Jake DeBrusk still doesn't want to be part of a Canucks rebuild, according to The Fourth Period's latest update, and the Canucks play in Winnipeg tonight.
The timing is awkward for Vancouver. The team sits 32nd in the NHL at 3-13-1, and the roster's most visible trade candidate has made his feelings clear more than once.
The Fourth Period noted that DeBrusk's mindset hasn't changed, that he'd rather not be part of a rebuild, and that he is open to various destinations despite holding a full no-movement clause.
-
That clause matters more than anything else here. Any deal runs through DeBrusk, so general manager Ryan Johnson can't simply pick the best offer and send him there.
This has been building for a week. The Fourth Period listed DeBrusk as the headliner among four Canucks veterans available for trade on October 28, and David Pagnotta reported the next day that he still wanted out.
The standings explain why nothing has softened. Vancouver is 1-8-1 over its last 10 and has lost three straight, the latest a 5-4 defeat to the Ducks on Tuesday.
Why DeBrusk's open door could help Vancouver
Being open to various destinations is the most useful part of the report. A player who limits himself to two or three cities kills his own market, and DeBrusk isn't doing that.
He is still producing for a team that is giving him very little help. DeBrusk has 5 goals and 5 assists in 15 games, with 3 of those points coming on the power play.
The minus-3 rating is modest on a team that has been outscored 77-51. A 30-year-old winger with that kind of production and a no-movement clause is exactly the sort of player contenders ask about.
Keeping him through a rebuild makes little sense. A first-round pick from 2015 who has played 643 NHL games isn't going to help a roster that is being torn down, and Vancouver gains nothing by pretending otherwise.
DeBrusk's unchanged stance on a Canucks rebuild was already reported Wednesday, so the new detail is the flexibility on destinations. Head coach Manny Malhotra has to keep the room together while that question hangs over the lineup.
The next test is Thursday in Winnipeg, with the Canucks trying to stop a three-game slide while the trade conversation keeps going around them.
Should the Canucks trade Jake DeBrusk now rather than wait for a better offer?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Brady Tkachuk and the Blackhawks rookie who called him out
