Charting Jake DeBrusk’s future must be first order of business for Bruins

"I feel like it'd be pretty depressing if I didn't have optimism that I'd be here."

Jake DeBrusk is set to hit free agency in July. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

February 4, 2024

4 minutes to read

At first glance, the Bruins don’t necessarily seem like a team equipped to reel off a blockbuster move before the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline.

Boston currently only has $61,558 of available cap space (per CapFriendly), limiting just how much leeway Don Sweeney and his staff have to make moves without subtracting from the NHL roster.

Years of win-now moves have also sapped away at Boston’s cupboard of draft capital — with Boston currently not on the clock until the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft.

The Bruins might have the means to add some heft to its blue line or checking unit before March 8.

But the odds of Boston acquiring a top-six talent or minutes-eating defenseman in the coming weeks appear slim, at best.

But what about the Bruins moving a player with a similar profile off their roster?

It’s a far from desirable outcome for Boston, given their current spot atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 31-9-9 record.

But with Jake DeBrusk set to hit unrestricted free agency in July, Boston needs to gain some clarity regarding the 27-year-old’s future in this market before it realistically assesses its other options before the trade deadline.

Because if the Bruins and DeBrusk are unable to chart out a potential long-term vision together, Boston might have to grapple with a scenario where a valuable top-six asset might become expendable — especially when weighed against the risk of him walking this summer with no return to speak of.

“I guess looking at it — I feel like it’s felt pretty real for me all year, to be honest with you,” DeBrusk said Sunday of playing on an expiring contract this season. “I think that ever since, even the start of training camp, I think that it’s one of those things where you want it to get done as fast as possible.

“But obviously, we’re here now. And when it comes to, I guess, thoughts on that — I don’t really have any that’s fresh. But like you said, yeah, it’s a month and a half until the trade deadline, and I hope it gets done quick.”

Jake DeBrusk on heading into the second half of the season: "We are in a great spot right now….we just have to keep doing what we're doing and keep building our game." pic.twitter.com/6j11v1K6WN
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 4, 2024

In an ideal scenario, the Bruins want to keep DeBrusk around. As polarizing as he might be, DeBrusk’s floor as a strong two-way winger capable of netting 20+ goals a season has plenty of value in today’s NHL.

And while Boston could likely secure a nice haul for DeBrusk if they did dangle him on the market, a contingency plan involving young wingers like Georgii Merkulov or Fabian Lysell in the top-six group this spring invites plenty of risk — especially given their uneven defensive games.

And even though Boston does boast a good amount of spending power this offseason, few free-agent targets on the wing offer both the 5v5 scoring touch and defensive impact that DeBrusk has added to his overall skillset over the last few seasons.

A slow start for the streaky winger (four goals in 31 games) might have cooled some of the initial urgency for Boston to put pen to paper on a deal. But since the holiday break, DeBrusk has scored eight goals and posted 14 points over his last 16 games.

He missed Boston’s final game before the All-Star break due to injury, but said he expects to play on Tuesday night against Calgary.

DeBrusk is not the easiest player to gauge in terms of his payout, especially given the variance as far as his baseline scoring totals.

While the extension that Brandon Hagel inked with the Lightning last summer (eight years, $6.5 million annual cap hit) was once tabbed as a comparable deal to a potential DeBrusk contract, DeBrusk may need to make concessions with either term or payout if he intends on remaining in Boston for the foreseeable future.

A new contract for DeBrusk and the Bruins could take many forms — be it a long-term deal hovering between $5.5-6.5 million AAV, or another potential bridge deal that allows him to hit the market again at 29 or 30.

Of course, DeBrusk could likely secure both a hefty raise and a long-term deal in free agency if he does go to the market. But if both he and his representatives choose to go that route, the Bruins might have to confront some hard truths about a valuable asset on this roster — especially just a few months away from a promising playoff push.

“I always have optimism,” DeBrusk said of his hopes of signing in Boston long term. “I feel like it’d be pretty depressing if I didn’t have optimism that I’d be here. But it’s one of those things that I hope it gets done. I have an agent for a reason. And I’ve obviously been in this organization for my whole career.

“So I feel like I know where I stand with this lineup. And I feel like I know where I am with the guys in this room and the city as well, the highs and lows. It’s more so just playing my game. I think my game was just coming along there. And then obviously, dealing with a little bit of something but you just go and just focus on the little things and I think everything should take care of itself.”