Latest trade buzz around Bruins forward is not what you would expect

With the NHL trade deadline less than a week away from today, rumours surrounding potentital transactions and trade candidates are in full swing.

For Bruins fans however, rumours surrounding 25-year-old Jake Debrusk have been around for quite some time. As a matter of fact, the former first rounder asked to be traded from the Bruins back in November.

But despite G.M. Don Sweeney confirming the reports, the Bruins instead chose to give Debrusk every chance he could get. The winger was promoted to the B's top line last month and he's shown great chemistry with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand since.

At the time of this writing, Debrusk had picked up nine points in his last ten games. Considering how solid his play has been and how hot the Bruins are at the moment, Friedman's comments last night come as somewhat of a surprise to some, but they were expected by many.

It'll be interesting to see how the Bruins choose to manage their top line asset in the days to come. Debrusk is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign after carrying a $3.675M cap hit for the past two seasons.