Canucks: Why Jake DeBrusk knows how to smooth the rough rebuild road

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At the end of it all, only one NHL team will he happy in June.

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And many more will be frustrated with first-round Stanley Cup playoff exits in late April or early May.

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That could invite roster changes and that’s where the Vancouver Canucks could advance their rebuild curve. Making prudent plays to prop up a pop-gun offence that finished 31st in productivity is one way to ease the pain that awaits in a slow slog to becoming an annual post-season competitor instead of spectator.

Of course, that’s counterintuitive to the rebuild rule book.

You don’t mortgage the future to address present problems and part with prize draft picks who could become snipers elsewhere. The Canucks surrendered the ninth-overall selection in 2021 , which turned into Dylan Guenther and 40 goals for the Utah Mammoth this season at age 23. It’s a stark reminder of the perils of not thinking long term.

However, Canucks ownership could get antsy as losses pile up and empty seats become more visible next fall at Rogers Arena. The hockey operations department will be pressured to improve the product while also allowing young potential-packed players to grow amid the grind.

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Getting younger and better sounds nice, but the reality is rougher. And putting the Canucks back on the rails won’t be easy. It requires veteran leadership, production, health and patience.

Leading goalscorer Jake DeBrusk endured trying times to overshadow 23 goals, of which 19 came on the power play to rank third overall. Brock Boeser needed a late spurt of four goals in his last 10 games to hit 21. Drew O’Connor hit a career-high 17, rookie Linus Karlsson managed 15, while Elias Pettersson plummeted to 15 goals.

Marco Rossi had 24 goals for the Minnesota Wild last season, but just eight in 33 games after the trade. Jonathan Lekkerimaki is coming off season-ending shoulder surgeries and had but two goals in 13 NHL games. First-round 2025 draft pick Braeden Cootes had 24 goals in the WHL this season, but that seldom transitions to the NHL.

At age 29, DeBrusk is at a place where it’s about winning and chasing a Stanley Cup. A rebuild is harder to embrace and he might welcome a change of scenery because his US$5.5 million salary cap hit for five more seasons would attract several suitors.

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DeBrusk’s body language and tone often painted a picture of frustration over losing, scoring slumps, and a disturbing healthy scratch. Could the Canucks get a younger and productive player in a trade return? Does he want to leave? It didn’t sound like it Friday.

“After every season, you try to look back and figure out what went right and wrong,” DeBrusk said at the year-end player availability. “Obviously, this year was tough on all of us — young and old — and it’s not what I expected. At the same point, if I played better, we might be in a different position.

“It’s easy to embrace a rebuild when you have young potential on the back end and some younger forwards who took steps. Lots of things have to go right for a winning team and I’ve seen it and I kind of got used to it. Everybody needs to be a piece and we need to figure out where those puzzle pieces are and improve.

“For us older guys, it’s about getting back to the playoffs, or at least a better place. Nobody is going to come in and save the day. We all need to be better.”

The Anaheim Ducks are in the playoffs for the first time in seven years because they went the hybrid rebuild route, a combination of good drafting and trades to complement a young and emerging core. The Ducks have 10 draft picks on their roster, six who are 23 years of age or younger, and are on the fast track to becoming an annual playoff fixture.

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Anaheim’s roster includes six free agents and eight players acquired through trades to provide roster balance plus push and pace. Above all, the Ducks realized youth is being served much younger with highly-skilled and willed players.

They also know you can’t miss on first-round picks and they’ve hit on Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov and Beckett Sennecke. And that’s not all.

A prudent trade two years ago that sent defenceman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round 2025 draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers landed Cutter Gauthier, 22. He exploded for 41 goals this season while Carlsson, 21, had 29 goals and rookie Sennecke, 20, added 23.

The Montreal Canadiens are a prime example of how fans of a storied franchise embraced rebuild pain for long-term gain — and did it relatively quickly.

They flipped the rebuild switch four years ago to shed veterans and go heavy into a youth movement. And look at where they are today. Fast, fun, formidable, affordable. And back in the playoffs for the second-straight spring with a 51-goal gunner in Cole Caufield, 25, and 30-goal guy in Juraj Slafkovsky, 22.

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The Canadiens didn’t just accumulate picks. They purposely identified trade targets of players who hadn’t hit yet with their respective clubs and benefited from a change of scenery and better fit for all.

Maybe the Canucks can learn for those rebuilds on the rough road back to respectability.

And if they’re really committed to be all in on this dynamic franchise shift, familiarity is more of a help than hindrance.

It’s why Abbotsford general manager and Canucks assistant GM Ryan Johnson, 49, should be promoted to supplant fired GM Patrik Allvin. And it’s why Manny Malhotra, 45, should be afforded the same challenge to run the bench. They know the organization, ownership, the hockey-mad market and expectations.

In guiding the AHL affiliate in Abbotsford to the Calder Cup last June, they excelled in understanding the complexity of developing prospects and winning at the same time. That was countered this campaign when an injury-ravaged roster, and four key players becoming NHL roster regulars with the parent club, meant missing the post-season.

However, you learn more from losing and Johnson and Malhotra are better for it. Six players who previously played for them in Abbotsford are projected to be on the Canucks roster in 2026-27.

Familiarity at all levels is more help than a hindrance to grow and prosper here from the experience.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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