Jake DeBrusk still has plenty of uncertainty in his life right now. He is is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency the first time in his career this summer and, as far as he knows, there hasn’t been much progress on a contract extension.
But last Friday’s trade deadline came and went and he remained a Bruins. And for the moment, that allowed him to breathe a little easier.
“It’s always a big one, to be honest,” said DeBrusk on Monday morning. “As the years have gone on, it’s really (tough) for everyone in the room. And it depends on certain situations – and how much you look on Twitter. And I’m still here. It’s definitely a sense of relief. You obviously don’t know until about 4:30 (on deadline day) and then you go from there. But I’m happy to be here and just excited to move forward in the playoff push here.”
Two years ago, there was a sense that DeBrusk would be dealt at the deadline. He had already asked for a trade and was about to become a restricted free agent. But on deadline day, he signed a two-year extension worth $4 million annually and has remained with the club. He had a very good season in 2022-23, notching 27 goals while missing a month with a broken leg.
But the consistency in scoring has not been there this year and, whether or not it’s closely linked, neither has a contract extension.
“I’ve had uncertainty before in different ways,” said DeBrusk. “I think in the beginning of the year, I felt prepared if it went this way. But you never know unless you’re going through it. I definitely thought my year would be different in certain ways. At the end of the day, it’s stuff we always talk about.. There’s only certain things you can control and focus on. It’s inhuman not to think about those things, to be honest, but there’s lots of good support around here for me. I have guys that are on this team that I lean on, guys that were on this team that I lean on and reach out and all that stuff. It’s crazy when you think about it, that it’s just a game. You just have to go out and play.”
Trying to avoid the trade talk is futile these days, said DeBrusk.
“It kind of gets thrown in your face these days, I feel like,” he said. “But, I’ve got to be honest, I’ve seen a lot of heat on social media throughout my entire career. Sometimes people ask or it gets brought up and I think it’s just the way we live nowadays. Does it affect you? I think it does in some ways. It’s easy to say it doesn’t. That’s one of the things that’s exciting as fan and nerve-wracking as a player.”
As he did with Linus Ullmark, the other Bruin most prominently mentioned in trade speculation, former captain Patrice Bergeron reached out to DeBrusk several times during the lead-up to the deadline.
“It’s nice to see him around the rink and talk to him a little bit. But, yeah, he has reached out and sent a couple messages. I miss that guy. That’s what I was waiting for at the trade deadline, the signing that he’s coming back. Because any time he’s around the room, I’m trying to beg him to come back. He’s looking good,” joked DeBrusk. “But he’s obviously someone I leaned on when we were together and speaks volumes of his character. Just out of the blue getting a text from that guy, it’s like you’re getting a text from your first date.”
Another thing that’s undoubtedly helped ease DeBrusk’s mind is that he’s starting pick up some points. He’s got 2-4-6 totals in his four games.
“Well, I think the puck’s going in, finally, which is nice,” he said. “There’s been some nice finishes and getting rewarded on that side of things is something you can’t necessarily control completely. But I haven’t minded my game. I think my game has been pretty similar. It just seems like things are going in and when things go in, you gain more confidence. It’s been an intense month, an intense week. I came back from an injury (he missed the last game before the All-Star break with an undisclosed injury)and I feel like I’m just starting to get healthy again. This is the most fun time of year. You don’t practice, you’re just playing games. They’re intense games, either divisional games or against teams that are trying to get into the playoffs. This is when the hockey means the most.”
He’s not overly concerned about the fact the doesn’t have an extension. He takes that fact that he’s still here to mean that there’s a belief on the team’s side that something can get done.
“It’s easy to get emotional or upset on these things,” said DeBrusk. “But I understand it’s a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for the team or you.”….
On Saturday, Ullmark made a point of saying how much Charlie McAvoy reaching out on deadline day meant to him.
“It just felt like it was something I wanted to do,” said McAvoy. “There was a lot of stuff going around and he’s a good friend, just like everybody in this locker. You step away from the ice and all these guys matter more as people than they do as players. I just wanted to send him a text. I’m happy that meant a lot to him. And I’’m really happy he’s still here.”…
Coach Jim Montgomery went with the same six defensemen for Monday’s tilt against the Blues, electing to get newly acquired defenseman Andrew Peeke some practice time on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I’m not going to commit to getting him in (on Thursday in Montreal), but he’s going to get in,” said Montgomery. “He’s an important piece and we have to get him acclimated and assimilated to how we play and get him comfortable. But we want him to be comfortable with a couple of practices before he gets in.”
Peeke will be wearing No. 52, the number current Blue Jacket and former Bruin Sean Kuraly wore when he was here. Peeke, a good friend of Kuraly’s, didn’t know it his Kuraly’s number when it was issued to him.
“Yeah, that’s something he’’ll have over me,” said Peeke with a laugh. “He said he’s surprised it’s not in the rafters yet.”…
With the exception of when Jeremy Swayman got four straight starts when Ullmark was hurt in January, the B’s have pretty much stuck to a goalie rotation this season. But the B’s brain trust is open to go with a hot hand in the playoffs, and we may get a taste of it before the regular season is over.
“At some point we might want to see someone play three games in a row. It’s kind of what we’ve discussed. We haven’t discussed since a couple of weeks ago. Let a guy go on a run and then let the other guy go on a run, just to simulate the damages physically of playing that,” said Montgomery.
