It's been nearly a month and a half since Jake DeBrusk (via his agent) went public with his request that the Bruins trade him. Obviously, no trade has come to fruition yet.
DeBrusk had played in 10 straight games since the request before being placed in COVID protocol this week and missing the Bruins' last two. He has two goals and an assist in that time, bringing him up to five goals and four assists in 27 games for the season. DeBrusk will likely miss at least one more game, but could be cleared from protocol after that.
So, is anything actually happening with the trade request? There had been some thought that the Bruins weren't in any rush to move him given how much lineup fluctuation they've had over the last month due to COVID-19.
While there's probably some truth to that, it sounds like general manager Don Sweeney has still been pretty active in trying to find a deal. In his latest "Trade Targets" column, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli shared this update:
"Though he's been needed in the lineup, Bruins GM Don Sweeney has been active in attempting to facilitate a deal and diffuse the situation," Seravalli writes. "Sweeney went around team to team offering DeBrusk for another (mostly) maligned or imperfect player on that team's roster, but to this point, hasn't found a deal that's worked for the Bruins."
There's a few key takeaways from this, assuming it's true. One is that Sweeney has not stepped back from the trade market and does seem to be making a good-faith effort to facilitate DeBrusk's request. That shouldn't be too surprising. Despite concerns over their forward depth, it's not ideal to drag out a situation with a player who obviously doesn't want to be in Boston. As Bruce Cassidy said while quoting Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, "It's always better when you have volunteers as opposed to hostages."
The second is that this might continue to drag out anyways. A player-for-player swap of the kind Seravalli mentions -- our change-of-scenery player for your change-of-scenery player -- seemed like the shortest path to getting a deal done. We heard players like Chicago's Dylan Strome, Seattle's Mason Appleton and Arizona's Lawson Crouse tossed around in rumors.
If Sweeney has already asked about players like that from basically every possible trade partner and been rebuffed, then the deal will need to be a little more complicated unless someone changes their mind. Now you're talking about packages involving other assets, whether that's players, prospects or draft picks.
And teams, including the Bruins, may not be willing to part with much else until they get a better feel for the full picture of the trade market. With the trade deadline not until March 21, that process is still in its early stages.
By all accounts, DeBrusk has been a good soldier over this last month and a half. His coaches and teammates have praised his professionalism and willingness to still do what he needs to do to help the team. On the ice, we have seen some good aggression and determination in recent games with several strong drives to the net.
It sounds like DeBrusk may have to continue to stick it out in Boston for a little longer.
