There are multiple changes expected to be coming for the Vancouver Canucks throughout the upcoming week, leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline.

The group of three unrestricted free agents (Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, and David Kämpf) seem like the easiest to go. However, veterans with term (Tyler Myers, Conor Garland, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser) have come up in recent trade rumours.

All the outside noise and speculation can start to creep into the room – whether the players admit to hearing the rumours or not. Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk spoke about how he and the rest of his teammates are handling all the rumours swirling around the team:

“We’re all human here; we all care about each other,” DeBrusk told CanucksArmy. “Obviously, this season’s not gone, really for anybody, the way they want to. Obviously, some guys are having some kind of breakouts in different ways and younger guys, but in terms of the trade deadline, those aren’t the guys that are being talked about or in the rumours.

“I think anytime you’re in any business in competitive sports and you’re last place in the league, it’s pretty self-explanatory with what’s going to happen next. But, you know, you just try to stay with it. You try to make the memories last.”

Safe to say, a transition toward a rebuild was not what Jake DeBrusk signed up for when he inked his seven-year, $38.5 million contract in the summer of 2024.

When he signed in Vancouver, the Canucks were coming off a 109-point season, their first Pacific Division title and came one game away from a Western Conference Final. The club had a 100-point centre, a 40-goal scorer, the Vezina runner-up, and the reigning Norris Trophy and Jack Adams Award winners. Then, multiple factors split the group and derailed not only that season, but the complete direction of the franchise.

Now, Canucks players are staring down the barrel of a full-blown rebuild, with most of the veteran players who signed long-term deals are now hearing their names in trade rumours. Even DeBrusk’s name has been brought up in rumours that he would be open to a change of scenery. However, amidst all the chaos and craziness that has transpired over the 20 months since he signed in Vancouver, if given another opportunity, DeBrusk still would have signed with the Canucks:

“I mean, it’s obviously on my mind. It’s obviously something that you start to think about. It’s human nature,” DeBrusk said about his name in trade rumours. “As you said, I signed here two years ago, they’re coming off a playoff run. I looked at the centre position; I looked at Quinn, Demmer, and we all know what’s happened since then. It’s been, obviously, not what anyone predicted.

“But I’m still signing that deal if I was getting the chance again. You know, in saying that, I think when you’re on a team like this, and obviously with different things that have happened out of your control, you know, you just rolled the punches.”

The first three seasons of DeBrusk’s seven-year contract include a full no-movement clause, which switches to a 15-team no-trade list for the latter four seasons. Despite the trade protection, DeBrusk is aware that it doesn’t mean he won’t be asked to move.

“Obviously, that’s pretty self-explanatory; I didn’t think I was an untouchable,” DeBrusk realizes. “I mean, I have the ultimate say, I guess, at the end of the day. I haven’t heard anything. I haven’t pushed for anything at this point. But at the same point, you take pride in different things, and you know, you’ve got to make a decision at some point.

“I think that’s just like any work in life. But as you said, when I signed here, I committed to being here, and that’s all I can really say at this point. But things happen fast. And, you know, I got set up here, close to home, everything I wanted. Just the team, obviously, we’re in the position we’re in. I do best when I play in the playoffs. That’s what I’m known for. And I don’t necessarily like having long summers. So it is what it is.”

Every player’s ambition is to win in this league. It’s the competitive nature that has been instilled in them at a very young age. So when it’s not going that way, and there’s not necessarily a clear timeline for when things will ultimately turn around, the question starts to linger about their future in their current situation.

DeBrusk signed a lengthy deal to be in Vancouver because it was close to his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, and because he believed in the direction of the team. He has since developed friendships and a relationship with the city, to which he’s now comfortable here in Vancouver.

But now, with the change of the Canucks’ direction, how does a player weigh the comfort of his living situation with the will to win?

“I haven’t thought too in depth about it,” DeBrusk shared. “I mean, the timing of this deadline is pretty fast, but over the break, I got away from it. But I mean, you can have the best setup in the world, but at the end of the day, we only play this game once, and you know, you just got to do every day like that. You’ve got to prepare the same way.

“I’ve always been in pretty good spots, but it’s like anything in life: you go to work, and things are good, you’re doing well, you don’t really want to leave. And when things go wrong, it’s sometimes easy to think about that. But it’s the best in the league in the world, and I committed here.”

The March 6th Trade Deadline is fast approaching. We’ll see which Canuck remain in Vancouver past next Friday. However, despite the change of landscape, signing in Vancouver is not something Jake DeBrusk regrets at this point in his career.

The 2026 Trade Deadline Special is going LIVE March 6th. Join the Daily Faceoff crew on Friday, March 6th from 8 AM-12:30 PM PT for wall-to-wall coverage of every single move as it happens. Get instant reaction, expert analysis, and exclusive insights from special guests throughout the day. Tune in LIVE on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and don’t miss a second of deadline day chaos.