Nashville Predators: Five Hypothetical Trades to Entertain this Offseason
By Rich Howe
Jake DeBrusk
Position: Left Wing
Current Team: Boston Bruins
2020 Salary Cap Hit: $863,333
If the Boston Bruins are entertaining the idea of holding on to Torey Krug, they may not have enough cap space to pay Jake DeBrusk. This makes him a prime target for the Predators.
DeBrusk scored 35 points (19 goals, 16 assists) last season. These numbers are down a bit from his previous two seasons, although this season was shorter due to the pandemic.
DeBrusk would be a welcome addition to the second line with Matt Duchene. He’s a gritty player who can score, which is exactly what the Predators’ second line needs.
The asking price for DeBrusk should fall nicely into the range of what the Predators could pay with others leaving the organization.
With an aging Bruins team, they may be willing to accept a first-round and a second-round pick or two to get some youth into their pipeline.
Offering a player of Nick Bonino‘s caliber may entice the Bruins even more, but the Predators would possibly have to retain some of his salary to make it beneficial for the Bruins.
This wouldn’t be a popular move among some shipping off a veteran like Bonino who has been so critical to leading the bottom-six and the third line.
However, this move would benefit all involved. It would keep DeBrusk on a second line and allow him some excellent feeds from Duchene. The Predators would bolster a second line that needs scoring, and the Bruins would save some cap space so that they could focus on re-signing Krug.