It looks like Jake DeBrusk might be sticking around after all.
According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, DeBrusk’s agent Rick Valette informed Don Sweeney last week that his client’s standing trade request — which has been in place since last summer — has been rescinded, and that he’d “be happy to remain a Bruin moving forward.”
Just hours ahead of the March trade deadline, DeBrusk did ink a two-year extension with Boston worth an annual cap hit of $4 million, which did not include any trade protections. At the time, that extension was envisioned as a sweetener for any team looking to acquire DeBrusk without having to deal with his pending free agency or qualifying offers. But now, it looks like a bridge deal that will keep DeBrusk in place with Boston at fair market value through at least 2024.
In his last meeting with the media back in May, the 25-year-old DeBrusk was noncommittal when it came to whether or not he’d be willing to give up his standing trade request — especially after a strong end to the season in which he thrived in a top-line role next to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand (10 goals, 16 points over last 20 games).
“I haven't thought about it,” DeBrusk said of wanting to stay in Boston. “I mean, it was kind of nice to not think about that since the deadline. I've been spending lots of time with the boys here and it's been two days and I'll go back home with my family and kind of go over the year more thoroughly, I guess. And then kind of make my call from there. So that's kind of where I'm at.”
DeBrusk added that putting pen to paper on that two-year extension would obviously open the door for the forward to remain in Boston for at least the next couple of years — especially if no team was willing to bite on Sweeney’s asking price. Such a scenario didn't seem to bother DeBrusk.
“I don't think I would have signed something like that if I wasn't okay with that," DeBrusk said of sticking around. "Obviously, it was crazy circumstances around that time, but yeah — I'm excited for another two years. I was excited to sign that. I think my game took off after that as well. I think that that's when, like I said earlier, I didn't have to answer these questions for a while. So that was kind of nice.”
So, what led to the sudden turnabout response from DeBrusk? Well, it’s rather easy to read between the lines in this instance, with DeBrusk having gone through a rather prickly relationship with former B’s coach Bruce Cassidy over the last few seasons.
Now that Cassidy is off in Vegas and a player’s coach like Jim Montgomery is in place behind Boston’s net … well, you can put two and two together there.
Of course, with no trade protections in place and Boston desperately needing to free up some cap room, there stands a chance that the B’s could still move DeBrusk this summer, especially if a team is willing to offer up some valuable draft capital or another young NHL asset.
But considering that Boston will already be shorthanded at LW to open the season with Marchand on the shelf — coupled with the fact that DeBrusk was one of the few bright spots on Boston’s roster when it came to even-strength scoring last season — it seems likely that the B’s will want to keep a now-content DeBrusk in place in a top-six role for the foreseeable future.
You can raise some valid criticism about DeBrusk being a malcontent with a coach like Cassidy, but if the young winger is happy and engaged with these new circumstances? He’s not exactly a guy you ship off your team just for the sake of trading him.
DeBrusk is still a valuable asset, and one who could still boast a higher ceiling in Montgomery’s system.