In a perfect situation, Jake DeBrusk would be donning another sweater at this point on the NHL calendar.
The Bruins, cognizant of his trade request since it was first issued this past summer, likely would have preferred to grant his wish for a fresh start elsewhere.
In the 11th hour, Boston attempted to facilitate a potential deal for DeBrusk just ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline — inking him to a two-year contract extension that wiped out his $4.4 million qualifying offer and presented cost certainty for whatever team wanted to acquire the streaky scorer.
But alas, be it concerns regarding DeBrusk’s hot-and-cold play or unsatisfactory returns, Don Sweeney and the Bruins opted to hold on to DeBrusk — tabling a potential trade until the summer, at the earliest.
“I’ve been having discussions on Jake for months,” Sweeney acknowledged after Monday’s trade deadline passed. “Today wasn’t any different in terms of where teams thought he fit into their group and what they were trying to do. Some teams were down the road on other things, and we’ll pivot back maybe. But it doesn’t really matter at this point. Like I said, sent a clear message to Jake and he sent one to us, that he just wants to play hockey.”
As sound as the logic is when it comes to Boston and DeBrusk’s arrangement through the final months of the 2021-22 season, there’s still plenty of risk involved.
In a perfect situation (well, I guess the second-best situation, considering a true hockey trade was the preferred route to take), DeBrusk remains entrenched on the B’s top line next to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, pads his stats and raises his stock ahead of a summer swap — and helps the only NHL club he’s ever played for win a title this summer.
Such seems to be the line of thinking that a candid DeBrusk expressed following Boston’s 3-2 overtime win over the Habs on Monday night.
“It's one of those things where I don't look at it as a negative situation,” DeBrusk said of his current predicament. “Any time that you can play for a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup, it's a positive. And that's why you play the game, is to win the Stanley Cup. I'm comfortable with these guys. I grew up with this team, and was drafted by them.
"It's one of those things where it kind of hits you a little bit, but it hits you in the right way. Obviously, I'm playing on a very good line at the moment, and I'll do anything I can to stay there and help the team win. Like I said, it's all about winning the Stanley Cup at this point, and I think anybody can get behind that."
Even though it seems like the Bruins don’t have to fret about DeBrusk dragging his feet even after his trade request once again wasn’t granted, his streaky O-zone production could create a devastating domino effect if he begins to run cold in a top-six role.
Not only would Boston’s top line begin to sputter if DeBrusk is either not burying chances or retrieving pucks, but his slumping totals would hinder Boston’s long-term goal — which is eventually dealing him for a legitimate return.
If Monday was any indication, however, DeBrusk is playing the way he needs to in order to remain in place on the top line. Even without Bergeron in the middle, DeBrusk was active in Boston’s first game at the Bell Centre since November 2019, attempting nine shots on goal and recording a takeaway over 16:15 of ice time.
“We’re going to need Jake,” Sweeney said. “We feel that he’s an important part of our hockey club. We wanted him to feel that way. It also sends a message to the rest of everyone that had, there’s clarity there in moving forward if we were going to explore something. Didn’t really mean today at all, just means moving forward. The impact that he can have on our hockey club, we believe in.”
It’s been a far-from-comfortable situation for all involved when it comes to DeBrusk, the Bruins and his desire for a clean slate in a new market.
For some, the promise of a long-awaited trade being granted in the summer would be viewed as nothing more than the moving of goalposts and met with disdain.
But for DeBrusk, it sure seems like he’s willing to make the most of this less-than-perfect situation.
“It's been a difficult week. ... There's a lot of uncertainty, you don't necessarily know," DeBrusk said. "And I think that's the one thing that I've taken away from it, from past 3 p.m. today, is I haven't felt clarity in three months. So I haven't known if I'm going to go, where I'm going to go or any of that kind of stuff. So now I know. And it's nice to kind of have that done with.”