VANCOUVER — Jake DeBrusk went to eight weddings this summer. The funeral felt like last season.
As the Vancouver Canucks collapsed on themselves and were forced into a rebuild, plummeting to the bottom of the National Hockey League, DeBrusk struggled through a campaign in which he scored just four even-strength goals.
The 29-year-old winger who prides himself on five-on-five play became essentially a power-play specialist, scoring 19 times with the man-advantage. But those goals often seemed like empty calories as the Canucks’ fell beyond competitive relevance over the winter while getting badly outplayed.
Two years into the seven-year, $38.5-million contract he signed in 2024 to return to Western Canada and help the Canucks win in the playoffs, the Edmonton native was a frequent focus of trade rumours and speculation.
One of the most accessible and accountable Canucks, DeBrusk poured kerosene on those fires when he said a few days before the March 6 trade deadline that a rebuild “is not something I would be OK with or accepting. My game doesn’t fit that.”
“What I said, that quote, gets a lot of attention,” DeBrusk told Sportsnet this week, still a Canuck and sounding excited about another season in Vancouver. “But nobody remembers what I said the next day when I clarified. It was an emotional time in the middle of a really hard season. I wish I’d thought about it a little more (when asked about the rebuild), but that’s on me.
“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.
“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.”
What DeBrusk said the day after his bombshell comment last season was: “I still believe in this group. I would sign my deal (again) if I had the chance to now.”
Even with the no-movement clause in his contract, there are harsh realities in a rebuild like the one the Canucks have started under new general manager Ryan Johnson. The team needs to continue getting younger and building draft capital, and veteran players whose ages (or salaries) don’t fit the time frame for roster reconstruction are always subject to trade.
Five Canuck veterans were dealt away for futures last year, and more will probably be traded this season. No one likes to hear their names in trade rumours, but DeBrusk will have to get used to them.
“I was kind of born into this game; I went to my first hockey game when I was three days old,” he said. “So this has been my life. I know what happens in a rebuild. I grew up in Edmonton when (the Oilers) were going through what we called the dark ages – all those No. 1 picks. So, I get it, I know this is part of the business.
“I think you just have to focus on playing well and helping your team. I haven’t played my best hockey in the two years I’ve been here. I need to play better, and that’s what I’ve been working on (over the summer). I have a lot of confidence in myself to do that.
“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.”
When not jetting around the continent for friends’ weddings, DeBrusk and girlfriend Mia Voyatzis spent the summer at home in Calgary, where she completed a medical residency last spring.
But the couple also travelled several times to their hometown of Edmonton, where Jake got to know Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes, who is from suburban Sherwood Park. DeBrusk also met elite prospect Caleb Malhotra during a week-long training session in Vancouver.
The veteran said he is impressed by the young players and feels energized by the Canucks’ youth movement. He said he is trying to move past last season, partly because there is no benefit in dwelling on it.
“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,” he said. “That doesn’t go unnoticed. We’ve got great fans and I’m falling in love with this city.”
He's falling in love with a new family member, too. DeBrusk and Voyatzis have a yet-to-be-named Pomeranian puppy.
“The only word he responds to is jelly, so maybe that will be his name,” Jake said.
Since starting as a rookie with the Boston Bruins in 2017-18, DeBrusk has 189 goals and 356 points in 628 games. He is 69th in NHL goal-scoring the last nine years, one goal ahead of Tom Wilson, two in front of Brayden Schenn. And 124 of DeBrusk’s goals, nearly two-thirds, have been at even strength.
“You know, there’s that old saying: ‘They don’t ask how, just how many,’” DeBrusk said. “Well, people look at how, too.”
