Thirty-two games into the 2024-25 NHL season, and the Vancouver Canucks are reaping the rewards of signing 28-year-old Jake DeBrusk in free agency. The Canucks doled out $38.5 million over seven years to the Edmonton-born forward, hoping he would round out their top six.
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While a sample size of two months is small, the early results are promising. DeBrusk is giving Vancouver’s management precisely what they hoped for. The forward leads the team in goal-scoring with 14 tallies — three markers up on Keifer Sherwood and Pius Suter, who sit in second — and is fourth in team scoring with 23 points.
DeBrusk’s 14 goals in 32 games put him on a 35-goal pace, well above his two-time career-high mark of 27 with the Boston Bruins. Even if his pace slows slightly, a 30-goal clip in his first season as a Canuck is nothing to scoff at. Tack on the nine assists he’s notched this season, and Vancouver has a quality top-six option carrying a reasonable $5.5 Million AAV.
The bulk of DeBrusk’s ice time has come to the left of Elias Pettersson. DeBrusk has accumulated over 230 minutes of TOI playing alongside Pettersson at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. The duo outshot opponents 106 to 97 in that time and had an even goal differential of nine.
DeBrusk accompanied lines have a knack for finding the back of the net at five-on-five. Three of the Canucks’ top-five scoring lines have DeBrusk on the left wing. Sherwood and Brock Boeser also appear multiple times, but just twice compared to DeBrusk’s trio of appearances.
Individually, Debrusk has an xGF% of 50.40. Vancouver has outscored opponents 22-17 and outshot opponents 196-179 with the 28-year-old on the ice. These numbers are particularly impressive, given the Canucks aren’t shielding DeBrusk from the opposition’s best players.
According to the data tracking site PuckIQ, 39.1% of DeBrusk’s ice time is coming against “Elite” competition. In that time, Vancouver is outsourcing opponents 13-3. Curiously, PuckIQ’s data shows that in the time on ice DeBrusk plays against “Middle” competition, the Canucks are getting outscored 3-9.
Currently, Vancouver sits two points behind the Edmonton Oilers for third place in the Pacific and four behind the Los Angeles Kings for second in the Division. Hot on their heels in the playoff hunt is the Calgary Flames, who sit just outside the second wild-card spot but are one point back of the Canucks — Vancouver has one game in hand.
The Western Conference postseason race is tight, and the difference in points between a wild card or division playoff spot is even tighter. As the Canucks push to try to find more secure footing in the playoff race, DeBrusk continuing his great play — especially against elite competition — will help the organization in its quest for a divisional playoff spot and, ideally, home-ice.
