One big area of uncertainty for the Boston Bruins ahead of their offseason plans?
It’s the status of winger Jake DeBrusk ahead of the July 1 open of NHL unrestricted free agency in a situation that could significantly change Boston’s game plan ahead of the free agent frenzy. If DeBrusk can be signed for a reasonable dollar amount and palatable term then that’s one less thing that the Black and Gold have on their “to do” list this summer.
Don Sweeney still holds out hope that the B’s can work something out with the 27-year-old that led the Bruins in playoff scoring (five goals, 11 points in 13 games) after posting a so-so 19 goals and 40 points in 80 games this season.
But it takes two to tango as the saying goes when it comes to contract negotiations in the big, bad National Hockey League.
“Negotiation is a two-way street. We’ve took an aggressive position with Jake [DeBrusk]. No different than other players that have chosen not to resign and explore, that's within his right, certainly at this time of the year,” said Sweeney. “Do I see a path [to keeping DeBrusk]? Yeah, there’s a path, I told him that at our exit meetings. You know, he’s been a big part of our group, he elevated in the playoffs. And I would prefer to have Jake DeBrusk as part of our team.
“But he has some opportunity in front of him that he may pursue otherwise. I don't have a clear answer for you today. But I know the position we've taken and we feel very comfortable. But it didn't get to the finish line [during the season].”
Despite last year’s subpar regular season, DeBrusk averaged 26 goals and 46 points in the previous two seasons and would head into free agency as a forward who’s basically averaged 20 goals per season since entering the league seven years ago. Those players tend to get paid handsomely if they make it to free agency and it feels like the Canadian NHL markets covet DeBrusk as the son of a former NHL player and current Canadian media broadcaster.
It doesn’t take much imagination to see the 27-year-old DeBrusk ending up some place like Edmonton on a free-agent deal that the Bruins don’t have much interest in matching in term or in the dollar amount.
DeBrusk is coming off a two-year, $8-million contract with the Black and Gold signed amidst his demand for a trade, and the suspicion is a modest bump in term (three years) and money ($5.5 million) is probably what the Bruins were looking for to retain the player. The suspicion is that DeBrusk will be able to command much more than that on the open market with teams bidding for a player whose speed and offensively skill level is undeniable.
Even more than that, the former first-round pick has rounded into a more well-rounded player even if there are still times when consistency can be challenging for him.
The problem if DeBrusk bolts is that it just adds to Boston’s shopping list where currently David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Pavel Zacha are the only other players that rate as bona ride top-6 forwards. Perhaps Charlie Coyle could also rate as a legit top-6 if acquiring a free-agent center like Elias Lindholm could allow him to slide down to second-line center, but it feels like they will be short on top-6 wingers with or without DeBrusk returning.
It would just mean the Bruins would have to look much more seriously at bringing in a Grade-A free-agent winger like Sam Reinhart or Jake Guentzel if DeBrusk goes elsewhere or rely on a young prospect like Fabian Lysell to step in and do the job when he may not be ready for prime NHL duty at this point. Do the Bruins have enough to spend big for both a marquee center and a big-time scoring wing this offseason? That doesn't seem likely even as they are flush with $20 plus million in cap space and a Jeremy Swayman contract that's going to need to get figured out sooner rather than later.
Certainly, the Bruins will have to find some replacement scoring if DeBrusk exits as both his speed and his finishing ability aren’t easily replaced after being a prime source of Boston offense over the last handful of years.
Long story short, Sweeney’s summer job reloading the Bruins roster will become that much more difficult if DeBrusk, as is suspected, moves on to greener pastures this summer in NHL free agency.
ONE-TIMERS
*Congrats to David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha for winning the IIHF World Championships and then making sure to mention the Czech Republic being snubbed during his Instagram post about it. No hard feelings there…none at all.
You knew the Four Nations snub was a big motivator for David Pastrnak and the rest of Team Czechia at the World Championships. He was understandably pissed about it when it was announced by the NHL. Pushed them all the way to a gold medal in front of the home crowd in Prague 🥇 pic.twitter.com/OzMNgseeHC
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) May 27, 2024
Pastrnak and Zacha were big difference-makers for Czechia once they took off from Boston very shortly after the playoff loss and made it to Prague ahead of the medal rounds.
*While the Boston Bruins season feels a little disappointing to fans after ending on a low note with a playoff elimination, there is zero doubting how good the product was that the B’s organization put on the ice this past season. Everybody in the organization deserves a ton of kudos and some hearty stick taps for the Centennial celebration and the “era nights” where the Original Six franchise brought a ton of former players back to Boston to celebrate the proceedings. Some like Johnny Bucyk and Rick Middleton are mainstays that you often see at TD Garden, and others like Wayne Cashman and Tim Thomas are faces that hadn’t been seen much in Boston in recent times.
A Centennial to remember.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 20, 2024
For 100 years, you have been by our side through it all. And this season was no different.
Thank you, Bruins fans, for your unwavering support and loyalty for the Spoked-B. pic.twitter.com/uQ63SEgUdI
“I want to echo how great this centennial season went off as far as all the era nights. I want to thank the alumni for coming back to Boston,” said Cam Neely, during the end-of-season press conference at TD Garden. “A lot of them traveled great distances to be here. It's exciting to see the alumni. I know our current players really enjoyed the various alumni that came through Boston this year.
*One name to keep in mind for Bruins trade talks is Cole Perfetti. The 22-year-old former first-round pick with the Winnipeg Jets is a restricted free agent after 19 goals and 38 points last season and was a healthy scratch for most of Winnipeg’s playoff run this spring. There have been whispers that he’s going to be dangled in the trade market by the Jets and he fits the profile for the Bruins, though it’s clearly not going to be a Linus Ullmark-centered trade offer for a team that already has Connor Hellebuyck manning the pipes. It’s also probably a very long shot that Winnipeg isn’t on Ullmark’s no-trade list given his aversion to the colder, West Coast landing spots on the NHL circuit.