For a team that could be staring at a different configuration in their dressing room in the next couple of days, the Bruins aren’t letting the usual pre-trade-deadline jitters affect them all too much — at least out on the ice.
Bruce Cassidy hasn’t noticed it, even though the writing has been on the wall for weeks now that Boston is looking to upgrade some areas of their lineup.
"It's business as usual for us," Cassidy said ahead of Boston's 2-1 overtime win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday. "If something happens to help our team, I think we'd all be grateful for that. If not, we'll try to keep playing well and get where we need to go."
Granted, one has to assume that the primary currency Don Sweeney will have to dole out in any deadline swap is future assets, with prospects or draft capital standing as Boston’s most valuable resource.
After all, the Bruins, now 10-1-1 in their last 12 games, don’t have much reason to subtract from their NHL personnel out on the ice these days. Of course, things can change in a hurry during this loopy segment of the NHL season, but if the Bruins are going to be buyers ahead of March 21, it doesn’t seem like many guys with steady roles in Cassidy’s rotation need to be looking over their shoulder.
Well, save for one player.
“The only guy is obviously Jake,” Cassidy said of the disgruntled winger, whose trade request has remained in place ever since it was made public back in November. “He's obviously aware of it and asked for it so I imagine that he has some emotions that the other guys don't,. I think every guy in that room would prefer to stay here, especially the way the team's going now.”
In a perfect situation, both the Bruins and DeBrusk would have likely parted ways long before the third week of March.
Boston, which has remained active in its search to give DeBrusk the fresh start that he’s sought for quite some time, is more than willing to accommodate his request — so long as they recoup an impact player of equal or greater value in return.
Alas, such an offer hasn’t landed on Sweeney’s desk, at least not yet.
For the Bruins, who have found some much-needed traction on both their second and third lines over the last month, shipping out DeBrusk ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. deadline only becomes a tenable scenario if they receive a replacement for his current spot on the top line, or at least bring in a top-flight piece in which DeBrusk is used as part of a larger package.
But if other clubs — clearly cognizant of DeBrusk’s efforts to be dealt and/or perhaps spooked by his pending $4.4 million qualifying offer — are only willing to offer future assets such as draft picks or middling bottom-six skaters for a player on pace for 21 goals, then the Bruins aren’t going to bite.
Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman hinted at such a possibility earlier this week, noting that the Bruins — adopting a win-now approach — don’t intend on moving DeBrusk ahead of March 21.
It’d be a risky maneuver for the B’s — even if there’s plenty of sound logic behind such a move.
Sweeney and Boston’s front office have been patient for months in regards to DeBrusk’s situation, and they’ve remained steadfast in their efforts to not move a still useful asset until they get a return that falls in the line with the price that they’ve gauged for the 25-year-old winger.
And frankly, if the Bruins aren’t able to acquire a top-six winger like a Conor Garland or even a potential rental like Rickard Rakell, it doesn't make much sense for Boston to ship DeBrusk out of town for, say, a second-round pick, if that’s the best offer out there.
Because at this point, trading DeBrusk solely for the sake of trading him makes this team a whole lot worse, especially if there’s no surefire solution to plug in on that top line next to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
Right now, Boston is not tinkering with those second or third lines, at least on the wing. So no top-line promotion for Craig Smith, even if DeBrusk is shipped out for peanuts.
And even though a young guy like Oskar Steen could fit next to 63+37, Boston can't just operate with that assumption going into what could be the last kick at the can for this current core.
Even though the Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk line hasn’t exactly scored as much as some might have hoped (three goals in 112:31 of 5v5 ice time together), it hasn’t been for a lack of effort.
During that 112:31 of 5v5 ice time, the Bruins have held pretty commanding advantages in:
Shot attempts: 149-80
Shots on goal: 92-46
Scoring chances: 67-27
High-danger chances: 26-8
Sure seems like a trio that’s more snakebit than anything, as opposed to a grouping that’s suddenly being dragged down by DeBrusk.
If a proper move isn’t out there for the Bruins, it’s far from a worst-case scenario, at least when looking through the lens of just this season. Because if that Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk line starts cashing in on those lopsided chances (a bit similar to the early games of the Frederic-Coyle-Smith line before they caught fire), the Bruins could have three effective forward groups rolling, regardless of what other upgrades this team could still make.
Yes, the potential drawback of not moving DeBrusk right now is pretty easy to discern.
If DeBrusk, forlorn and discouraged by the fact that he’s staying put in Boston through at least the end of spring, chooses to drag his feet down the stretch here, the Bruins could be right back at square one with a hot-and-cold player — and staring at a black hole at 1RW.
The Bruins are likely hoping, if such a scenario came to pass, that DeBrusk would be able to see the forest for the trees if he needs to stick around a bit longer.
Not only would a mail-in performance not sit well with others in the room (all of whom have routinely praised DeBrusk for buying in this season and not making his standing trade request a distraction), but DeBrusk has to be pragmatic when it comes to his financial situation and that looming payday.
Sure, Boston may not be the one that pays DeBrusk that long-term deal he’s looking for. But if he wants to maximize his value ahead of an eventful offseason, he’s not going to do himself any favors if he sleepwalks down the stretch, especially when handed reps next to two playmaking conduits in Marchand and Bergeron.
Suiting up in a black-and-gold sweater in April and May is likely far down on DeBrusk’s wish list, to say the least. But if DeBrusk sticks with the program, helps Boston win — and collects a boatload of points in the process next to Marchand and Bergeron — that’s making the most out of a pretty cruddy situation.
“I talked to him about his game and that’s it,” Cassidy said of his conversations with DeBrusk ahead of the deadline. I don't get into the, that's the business side of it with him. I think his game has been good. He's second effort on the puck. He's drawing penalties. He's trying to complement those guys. I know that, as a line, they haven't scored a lot, but it's not for lack of chances and effort.
“The other night was a good example of that — I think they all could have scored a goal. And so it's going to happen for them. So like I said, as long as he's a Boston Bruin and playing, his game and in helping us win and he'll stay in that spot. And if that changes, well, I guess we can talk about it then."
Even though I’ve spent the last couple of paragraphs spit-shinning a rather bleak situation facing both the Bruins and DeBrusk, I’d still be far from surprised if the winger is playing elsewhere by next week.
Ultimately, it’s going to come down to just what kind of returns Boston can get. And while the narrative surrounding the Bruins and this entire trade saga has painted Boston as having next to no leverage, that sentiment seems to have shifted a bit.
Because at this point, the Bruins don’t need to move DeBrusk, not if they’re not getting equal value back. If a 20-goal scorer fixed on a top line has to stay put for a few more months, the Bruins aren’t necessarily going to be kicking themselves over such a result.
They’re just hoping that DeBrusk shares a similar line of thinking if such a scenario does come to fruition.
Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick.