Jake DeBrusk is drawing a hard line around the trade chatter surrounding him and the Vancouver Canucks.
Speaking with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, DeBrusk said plainly that he has not asked out, pushing back on the rumors that followed a rough season for both him and the team.
“I want to say this on the record: I have not asked for a trade. There are all kinds of crazy things out there sometimes, but I haven’t talked to anyone about that.
I signed in Vancouver for a reason. I wanted to help them win and I still think I can help them.”
DeBrusk joined the Canucks as an unrestricted free agent after their run to the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. What followed was a brutal slide for the club, which sank over the next two seasons and finished dead last in 2025-26 before a full regime change brought Daniel and Henrik Sedin, along with GM Ryan Johnson, into the rebuild.
Last season was especially messy for DeBrusk. He was made a healthy scratch by head coach Adam Foote, who chose DeBrusk and no other underwhelming Canucks veteran for a night in the press box. DeBrusk also struggled to score at 5-on-5, and the team’s midseason shift into rebuilding mode only added to the frustration.
That frustration spilled into the public last season when DeBrusk said a rebuild “is not something I would be OK with or accepting. My game doesn’t fit that.”
He walked that back the next day, making it clear he was still committed to Vancouver. Even with trade rumors swirling late in the season and through the offseason, DeBrusk says he’s not trying to force his way out now.
Instead, he says he sees a role for himself in the next phase of the organization.
“This is my 10th season. I’ve been around some pretty good leaders.
I’ve been through a lot of things, learned a lot. I think I can help (younger players).
I may be turning 30, but I act like I’m 25. I’m just excited to get going again,” DeBrusk told Sportsnet.
He also pointed to the way Canucks fans stayed behind the team even in a miserable year.
“I learned more about myself last year than any other year. This game humbles you.
I think when you lose, everybody has to look at themselves…But you know, one of the things I remember about last season is that at the end of a very tough year, our building was still full and fans were standing and cheering for us. That doesn’t go unnoticed.
We’ve got great fans, and I’m falling in love with this city.”
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