By one way or another, Jake DeBrusk apparently was headed north of the border in NHL free agency.
DeBrusk on Monday finalized a seven-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks, who are set to pay the veteran wing $5.5 million annually. But according to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, the Canucks weren’t the only Pacific Division team interested in the former Boston Bruin.
“I believe there was mutual interest between DeBrusk and the Oilers, but they would have had to move some significant money to make it work,” Rishaug posted to X.
It’s not difficult to understand why DeBrusk was reportedly intrigued about the opportunity of playing in Edmonton. The 27-year-old is from the area where his father, Louie DeBrusk, spent six seasons in the Oilers organization and currently serves as a Sportsnet color commentator for the team.
Furthermore, joining the reigning Western Conference champions is a pretty easy sell, and who wouldn’t want to play alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl? But money talks, and the Canucks seemingly were willing to shell out more dough for DeBrusk than any other club.
