After walking away in NHL free agency, Jake DeBrusk’s time with the Boston Bruins is officially over.
A former first-round draft pick in 2015, DeBrusk was a central piece of the Bruins’ lineup for seven years. And yet, DeBrusk’s lasting legacy in Boston will always be marked by his infamous trade request during the 2021-22 season while unsatisfied in his role with the Bruins at the time.
“Just with the way the team was shaping up when it came to looking at where I could possibly play in the lineup and things like that and how the [previous] year ended, I got scratched in the playoffs, and I was just thinking about a fresh start for both sides,” said DeBrusk in a recent interview on The Cam & Strick Podcast. “At that point, I made the call to try and get it moving forward. I didn’t think they were taking it seriously, and I thought that, at that point, I was fighting for my career. I thought I could add more than what was happening, and I didn’t see anything changing.”
Jake Debrusk said he requested a trade out of Boston two separate times 👀⬇️
🎧: https://t.co/usZ5iG0XAe
📺: https://t.co/GuP11qYYgV pic.twitter.com/abQGIpVIv5— The Cam & Strick Podcast (@CamandStrick) July 16, 2024
In the interview, DeBrusk claimed that he privately informed the Bruins front office of his desire to be traded during the summer of 2021. But, following a poor stretch in which he scored just three goals through his first 15 games of the regular season, DeBrusk’s request became public knowledge, and he soon became public enemy No. 1 in Boston.
“I know I made some enemies,” DeBrusk said. “There are different fan groups in Boston. It’s not a pretty thing to do. I just felt desperate in the sense of my own career. I needed a change.”
At that point, the Bruins deemed it best to keep DeBrusk off the ice while they searched for a trade. However, a string of injuries to some of the other players on the team forced him back into the lineup and back into the public eye.
While he was still a pariah among the Bruins’ fanbase, DeBrusk’s status within the locker room remained status quo. Although he no longer wanted to be in Boston, he knew the only way to improve his situation was to remain a solid contributor to the Bruins.
“When it came out, it was very uncomfortable,” DeBrusk said. “It was very uncomfortable at the rink the next day. I talked to the guys in the room, and the guys that were there were the biggest reasons why I got out of that situation. They had my back and were with me through it all, and they were all good with me. They understood I was trying to find a better fit for me to have a longer NHL career and a better chance at something.”
Eventually, DeBrusk rescinded his trade request and signed a two-year extension with the Bruins on the same day as the 2022 NHL trade deadline.
The following year, DeBrusk experienced the best individual season of his career, scoring 50 points for the Bruins while playing under the newly hired head coach, Jim Montgomery.
“It’s not that I didn’t want things to work out,” said DeBrusk. “Sure enough, things fell back into place again. At that point in time, I wouldn’t have seen this four years later. It taught me a lot about myself. I felt like my back was against the wall constantly, I was walking on eggshells, and to be honest, it made me grow up really fast. It was maybe a little premature, but looking back at it, it got me to this point today.”
Now with the Vancouver Canucks, DeBrusk will begin the new chapter of his career that he was looking for. DeBrusk will return to TD Garden for the first time when the Canucks visit the Bruins on Nov. 26.
