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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 24: Jake DeBrusk #74 of the Vancouver Canucks reacts to teammate Pius Suter's goal during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on March 24, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The Vancouver Canucks have multiple trade candidates to watch this offseason. One of their most notable ones is forward Jake DeBrusk. The 29-year-old winger has been the subject of trade rumors for a while and memorably expressed discontent this past season over the idea of playing for a rebuilding team at this stage in his career.

With this year’s pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) not being the strongest, DeBrusk has the potential to generate a lot of interest as this offseason carries on. This is especially so when noting that he is entering just the third season of his seven-year, $38.5 million contract, where he carries a very reasonable $5.5 million cap hit.

With that, The Fourth Period recently included DeBrusk on its 2026 Summer Trade Watch list and named multiple teams interested in the Canucks forward. Among the teams that The Fourth Period reported are linked to DeBrusk are the Montreal Canadiens.

“DeBrusk has made it clear he does not want to endure a rebuild and the Canucks are trying to find him a new home,” The Fourth Period wrote. “Teams Reportedly Linked: Columbus, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Seattle, Edmonton, Montreal.”

While the Canadiens’ biggest need is a top-six center for their second line, they also could use a scoring winger in their middle six. Because of this, it is understandable that they are among the teams that have DeBrusk on their radar early on this offseason.

Canucks’ DeBrusk Could Slot Very Nicely in the Canadiens’ Forward Group

When looking at the Canadiens’ current roster, it is certainly fair to argue that DeBrusk would be a good fit on it. He would have the potential to work very well on the second line with Jake Evans and Ivan Demidov due to his scoring ability. However, since he can play both wings, he could fit virtually anywhere in the Canadiens’ top nine if acquired.

DeBrusk’s offensive skill would also give the Canadiens another solid option to work with for their power play. This is an area where DeBrusk shines, as 19 of his 23 goals during this past season came while the Canucks were on the power play.

DeBrusk would also give the Canadiens a player who has scored at least 23 goals in four out of his last five seasons. With this, he would give the Habs some much-needed secondary scoring. Furthermore, he would give a Canadiens team on the rise a veteran with plenty of playoff experience. This is because the 2015 first-round pick has played in 86 career postseason games.

Canucks Could Have a Good Trading Partner With the Canadiens

With the Canucks being a team that is focused on the future and building their prospect, they could be interested in doing business with the Canadiens. The Canadiens have several promising prospects in their system that could grab the attention of Vancouver. Two specific ones who could interest the Canucks are Owen Beck and Joshua Roy.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Canucks end up dealing DeBrusk to Montreal this summer. It would have the potential to be a trade that benefits all parties, but time will tell if Vancouver deals him.