Should the Islanders Trade For Jake DeBrusk?

Remember the 2015 NHL Draft? The Boston Bruins had three picks in front of the Islanders and they ended up taking Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zachary Senyshyn. Senyshyn and Zboril have combined for 66 games in the NHL but DeBrusk has been a steady middle-six forward for Boston.

Well, those days seem to be over as Jake DeBrusk has asked to be traded out of Boston, confirmed by his agent.

Spoke with Rick Valette today, agent for Jake DeBrusk, he confirmed he asked for a trade over the weekend. It's felt a change of scenery moving forward would be beneficial. Debrusk will remain with the team while the Bruins try and facilitate the request.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) November 29, 2021

So the question becomes, should the Islanders get involved in trying to make a play on DeBrusk and if so what would it cost?

Should the Islanders trade for Jake DeBrusk?

This year, Jake DeBrusk is playing 14:24 per night with six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 17 games played in his age 25 season. It's been a slow start for Jake and he didn't have a particularly good season alst year with 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 41 games.

In fact, you can make that case that he's regressed almost every year he's been in the league. His rookie year saw him put up 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) getting similar ice time to what he is now. He took a step up in ice time the following year putting up 27 goals and 42 points in 68 games in 2018-2019 as a 22-year-old.

Unfortunately, he was never able to build off of his first two seasons in the league, and he kind of just plateaued as an okay middle six player. You could make the case that there is more in the tank there and that his cap hit of $3.7 million there's not a ton of risk, I just don't think that's what the Islanders need.

I mean, is there that much of a difference between Anthony Beauvillier and Jake DeBrusk? They're both okay middle six players who have flashed at times but have never been consistent for a full season.

Jake DeBrusk, asking for a trade is a middle-six shot-first forward who's seen his finishing, production, and ice time plummet in the past two seasons. A fresh start would probably be a good idea for all involved. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/cNjzXfFavo
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 29, 2021

If the Islanders were to make a move, first of all I don't think it would be right now I think they would wait it out a little bit longer and I would hope that it would be for a more proven player than Jake DeBrusk.

Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman (when healthy), etc. seems much more what the Islanders need. Some proven pop, not a cross your fingers and hope a fresh start does the trick.

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