Ryan: What's the best-case scenario for Jake DeBrusk & Bruins at this point? Hopefully, a swift resolution

When news broke from Jake DeBrusk’s camp on Monday evening that the disgruntled winger had requested a trade from the Bruins — Don Sweeney was far from surprised.

After all, he’s been aware of DeBrusk’s desire to shed his black-and-gold sweater and start anew long before his trade request was aired out to the masses. 

“I'm not overly surprised that this eventually came out,” Sweeney noted on Tuesday morning at Warrior Ice Arena. “I've been in the know for this for quite some time. And we've been trying to look at a hockey-trade situation that would help the Boston Bruins ... and accommodate with what Jake thinks is best. There's a balance there.” 

In a sport where the bonds formed in a locker room are considered sacred — and the camaraderie between teammates leads to skaters willingly absorbing the ballistic damage of a blocked shot for the greater good of the club — the notion of a player willingly wanting to part ways with a franchise is regularly framed as a taboo (and self-seeking) course of action.

But DeBrusk’s desire to chart a path somewhere else is not a unique hurdle for an NHL roster — especially one anchored by veterans in this league like Patrice Bergeron.  

"It's not the first (trade request) and it's gonna happen as we move forward, it's just one of those things in sports,” Bergeron said. “And for us, I think things don't change. We're gonna make Jake — we expect him to be accountable, like the rest of the guys, and work hard, just like the rest of the guys. Nothing changes, the culture stays the same.”

Of course, it’s one thing for a trade request to be placed on the radar of front-office personnel as part of hush-hush dealings,  and it’s an entirely different beast for that grievance to be tossed out for public consumption — where media, fans and the buzzards that fuel social-media discourse are primed to pick apart and dissect every angle of said player’s intentions.

For the personnel most directly impacted — DeBrusk’s fellow teammates in the B’s room — the response in wake of Monday’s news was one of acceptance and patience for a player who seems to have reached a breaking point with the only NHL franchise he’s ever played for. 

“He talked to us this morning,” Taylor Hall said. “He just said, ‘I love you guys, This is something in my career - I’m at a crossroads.’ … He’s not a distraction at all. It’s almost better that it’s out there. You have a day to digest that. Jake’s a great kid. He’s got a lot of skill, and he’s going to have a great career in this league.

“As a group, as an organization, I think you deal with those distractions head-on, and you just go play the game. That’s the culture, that’s the motto that we have. Whoever’s in, you've got to play well. That’s what we said this morning. We expect Jake to play as well as he can, even under the circumstances.” 

Of course, had DeBrusk had his way, he likely would have been dealt long before Tuesday’s home tilt with the Red Wings. 

Or, at the very least, his final game would have been Boston’s battle with the Rangers on Black Friday, with Sunday’s healthy scratch against Vancouver serving as the final straw in terms of his rocky relationship with the B’s.

But both the Bruins and DeBrusk are not granted the luxury of perfect scenarios when it comes to concocting his fresh start on a different club.  

Even after the trade request went public, DeBrusk laced up his skates with Boston on Tuesday night — and might have to for the foreseeable future. 

With Brad Marchand suspended, Anton Blidh banged up and Boston unable to recall players from Providence due to a COVID-related outbreak down on the farm, the B’s have their hands tied in terms of the pieces that they can work with to fill out an NHL lineup.

Even though preserving a trade asset like DeBrusk by keeping him out of action would seem to be a prudent move following his request, Sweeney and the Bruins didn’t have much of a choice other than to roll the dice with a disgruntled DeBrusk in an in-game setting.

Sweeney focused on the silver linings on Tuesday when asked about such an awkward scenario — noting that a strong performance on the ice should only accelerate the timeline when it comes to DeBrusk finally exiting Boston. 

“We expect Jake to play well," Sweeney said. "This comes down to the Boston Bruins having to make a hockey decision. And for Jake, it comes down to him playing his best hockey — whether that's for us, and hopefully, that's for us tonight. But also if it’s leading to an opportunity elsewhere, he has to play his best hockey as a player. And he knows that.”

Unfortunately, he did little to help his case on Tuesday night — nor did the Bruins receive the showcase they likely desired in terms of elevating his stock in trade circles.

Saddled on the fourth line with Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar, DeBrusk only logged 10:25 of ice time. Aside from a solitary hit and shot on goal, his shifts weren’t appointment viewing during Boston’s eventual 2-1 loss to Detroit.  

The uncomfortable optics of DeBrusk suiting up and competing for a team that his camp has publicly expressed their displeasure with was only magnified by the Garden crowd uncorking a steady chorus of jeers and boos whenever the puck did land on his stick.

While the logic is sound as far as Boston doing what it can to recoup DeBrusk’s value over the coming days, the wheels put in motion following Monday’s news — coupled with the team’s unfavorable roster situation — is creating a miserable situation for both a player and a team that likely want to move on at this point.

Of course, the B’s are not going to pull the trigger on a move just for the sake of moving DeBrusk — not if the value falls far short of what Sweeney is targeting for a hot-and-cold forward that very well could pot 20 goals in the right situation.  

Even though DeBrusk’s stock has understandably taken a hit over the last few seasons, it sure seems like there’s a healthy market already brewing. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, at least 12 teams, if not more, have already expressed interest in taking the forward off of Boston’s hands. 

With DeBrusk doing little to elevate his value in a fourth-line role, it sure seems like all parties are looking for a swift resolution that satisfies everyone involved: Namely, DeBrusk thriving in greener pastures, and Boston receiving proper compensation for a talented player whose tenure at TD Garden sure seems to have run its course.

That would be the perfect scenario at this stage of this uncomfortable divorce. 

But as the last 24 hours have mapped out, perfect scenarios have been in short supply with this franchise as of late.