The Vancouver Canucks are in a full-blown rebuild, which is unfortunate for one former Boston Bruins forward. Jake DeBrusk signed a long-term contract with the Canucks, partly because of a soured relationship with the Bruins' staff and the belief that Vancouver was set up for much more long-term success than Boston.
It's hard to blame DeBrusk for his line of thinking. The season before DeBrusk's signing, the Canucks led the Pacific Division with 109 points and put up a good fight against the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the playoffs. It seemed like Vancouver was about to battle Edmonton in that division for a long time.
Since DeBrusk joined, Thatcher Demko has been unable to stay healthy, the team traded Quinn Hughes and JT Miller, and there could be more veterans heading out the door. What's about to happen in that organization isn't what DeBrusk signed up for, and it's unlikely that he wants to stick around for another five years if the rebuild is going to take more than half of that time.
DeBrusk had his second-best season in 2024-25 despite the Canucks' struggles. He also reached a new career-high with 28 goals. He is right around that pace again through the season's first 32 games.
The Bruins-Jake DeBrusk reunion that could make sense now more than ever
So, less than two years after DeBrusk drew the line in the sand about the future of the franchises, the Canucks are heading toward a rebuild, and the Bruins have made great strides to avoid a full-blown rebuild and instead go through a mini-retool. Boston is compiling prospects to help the team long-term while still competing in the Atlantic Division.
One piece the Bruins are looking to add is a scoring winger, according to Elliotte Friedman. It'd take moving some money out to make it work, but DeBrusk would fit the bill as the kind of middle-six winger Marco Sturm is looking for. He also has experience playing his off-wing, and could slot in nicely behind David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie.
The soured relationship shouldn't be as much of an issue. The team still has some of his best friends from his time in Boston, including an old friend who also returned in Sean Kuraly. The new culture in Boston under a player's coach in Sturm could be just what DeBrusk wanted when he bolted Boston.
Boston sports fans don't exactly do well with holding grudges. When Debrusk left, some people felt he had given up on the city and cowered under more strict coaching staffs. There might be some mixed reactions if the Bruins did bring DeBrusk home, but some scoring depth in the middle-six would quickly make the fans forget.