Bruins

Jake DeBrusk mulls uncertain future with Bruins and other takeaways from break-up day 

"I think that that’s something that creeps in your mind. It sucks. Not a good feeling to think about."

By Conor Ryan

May 20, 2024

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The Bruins held their annual break-up day with the media at Warrior Ice Arena on Sunday, with every player discussing the 2023-24 season, injuries, their future in Boston, and much more. 

Along with Jeremy Swayman’s next contract and a potential trade on the horizon for Linus Ullmark, here are a few takeaways from the final locker-room access of the Bruins’ 2023-24 season:  

Jake DeBrusk enters uncertain future 

Jake DeBrusk has called Boston home for seven seasons in the NHL ranks. The 27-year-old winger hopes his time in a black-and-gold sweater continues onward in 2024-25 and beyond.

But as he cleaned out his locker on Sunday, DeBrusk acknowledged that this very well could be the final time he steps foot in Boston’s dressing room. 

“Obviously I think that that’s something that creeps in your mind. It sucks. Not a good feeling to think about,” DeBrusk said, per Jim McBride of The Boston Globe.

DeBrusk’s future in Boston has been a topic of conversation all season long, with the top-six regular set to become an unrestricted free agent in July. While both DeBrusk and the Bruins have largely said all of the right things in terms of bridging the gap on a new contract, those words have not manifested into tangible action. 

 “I haven’t actually talked to management today yet, so I don’t have any necessarily new updates on that side of things, but I think I have a pretty good understanding of what the market is in that sense of the word,” DeBrusk told McBride. “It’s not that hard. 

“You just got to look at certain guy’s stats and things like that and just go from there. But I understand the range, the cap going up, and everything like that, it obviously will be different, but in saying that, I’m not going to say I’m a know-it-all, obviously there’s logistics and things that are different.”

DeBrusk is due a pay bump from the $4 million cap hit that he commanded in 2023-24. The Bruins — who will enter this offseason with a projected $20.9 million in cap space — have the fiscal flexibility available to meet his demands.

But the Bruins also need to account for a hefty extension for Swayman, as well as another major deal or two for a top-six center or wing. Boston ideally wants to keep DeBrusk in the fold for the long haul, but it might come down to what DeBrusk is looking to command — especially if he fields offers on the open market. 

If DeBrusk is looking for a long-term deal worth over $6 million per season, the Bruins may need to confront some hard truths as to how they want to allocate their abundance of cap space. 

“I see a path here. I mean, I think I said it all year. I still have hope and if you told me at the beginning of the year I’d be here without a contract, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” DeBrusk said. “But at the same time, I mean I’ve always loved my time here. 

“There’s a lot of great memories even from my rookie season to now, seventh year, I guess, in the playoffs. So, lots of good memories and lots of good things that hit you on the emotional side of things, I guess in the sense of when you’re thinking about, I guess the other side, but sitting here, I haven’t talked to management. I am not exactly sure.”

DeBrusk has been a polarizing player at times during his tenure in Boston, due in large part to his up-and-down scoring output. 

He has developed into an effective, two-way winger who can impact the game both on the PK and the power play. But if DeBrusk is seeking $6 million or more per year, his baseline production needs to be better. 

He has only surpassed 50 points once in his career, with his skating ability, nose for the net, and hands painting the picture of an impact winger capable of lighting the lamp 30+ times — year in and year out. 

DeBrusk had an inconsistent 2023-24 campaign, scoring 19 goals and 40 points over 80 games. He did disclose that he dealt with a broken hand during the second half of the season, with the injury healed in time for the playoffs.

He was arguably Boston’s most impactful player after Jeremy Swayman during the team’s latest playoff push — scoring five goals and 11 points over 13 games. That playoff run highlighted his value to the Bruins, with his speed and netfront skills a necessity when the ice shrinks during the postseason.

Given that the Bruins likely won’t find themselves in a bidding war for a winger set for a $9+ million payday like Sam Reinhart or Jake Gunetzel, DeBrusk is a logical candidate to bring back —  considering that Boston will likely need to spend heavily to find his replacement in that top-six role if he signs elsewhere. 

With their cap situation, the Bruins should have the means to add another impact forward and keep DeBrusk in Boston long-term.

But it all comes down to just how much DeBrusk and his representatives are looking for this summer. 

“To win. I think that’s something that I want,” DeBrusk said of his priority in free ageency. “I think, I’ve been now, this is my seventh time in the playoffs. I’ve got a lot of experience playing games obviously, was close in 2019. 

“That’s the biggest thing. I think that’s all I want to do now is to win a Stanley Cup. So that’s number one priority. Just going to go and it’s probably what I’ll look for.”

Walking wounded

DeBrusk was far from the only Bruins player to disclose that he was hampered by the end of the season. 

Here is the full list of injuries that the Bruins publicly disclosed on Sunday. 

David Pastrnak acknowledged that he had “a couple of groin issues” that plagued him throughout the season. He added that it did not impact his play during the postseason, where he was limited to four goals and four assists over 13 games. Even with those lingering ailments, Pastrnak played in all 82 games for Boston. 

Charlie McAvoy was dealing with an AC joint injury, but brushed aside concerns that it hindered his play this season. 

“That’s really an annoying injury like, a couple of people were like, you’re gonna deal with that all year,” McAvoy said. “Couldn’t wait for that. But yeah, they weren’t wrong. Like, it’s annoying, but, you know, it’s none of those things that you can’t overcome things, everybody deals with stuff like that.” 

Matt Grzelcyk struggled to find his footing for extended stretches of the 2023-24 season, with an early stint on long-term injured reserve forcing him to play catch-up.

“Early in the year I just tore my oblique, so that was why I had to go on LTIR for about a month there,” Grzelcyk said. “I think that that kind of derailed me a little bit, not even just from the injury, just having to miss 10 games. I think that kind of was tough to get back from and I had a tough time finding my groove after that.” 

Derek Forbort, once seemingly done for the season after undergoing multiple procedures in March, revealed that he had surgeries on both of his groins and also went through an operation to fix a torn ligament in his thumb. 

Danton Heinen opted to not get into the “lingering stuff” that forced him to miss five games this postseason, but added that he doesn’t believe he’ll need offseason surgery. 

Shipping out of Boston?

DeBrusk is far from the only unrestricted free agent that the Bruins will need to make a decision on, as Danton Heinen, Pat Maroon, James van Riemsdyk, Derek Forbort, Matt Grzelcyk, and Kevin Shattenkirk will all hit the open market.

Much like DeBrusk’s situation, the Bruins do have the financial freedom this offseason to retain multiple players. But with several younger internal options available — coupled with the need for Boston to use that cap space elsewhere to correct pressing issues up front — it remains to be seen just how many of Boston’s UFAs will be back at Warrior Ice Arena in September. 

“For me, I had the best experience in my life, in my career to be a part of this group and be a part of this,” Maroon said of playing in Boston. “These guys that really truly care. I can’t thank them enough for welcoming me, my wife, and my daughter, my son to be part of it. When you go through teams and we go through a bunch of teams.  I felt like this team was it. I really did.”

“I’m not really sure,” Grzelcyk, a Charlestown native, said of what to expect in free agency. “No, this is the only place that I’ve known and the place that I grew up wanting to be. 

“It’s been an unbelievable experience since I’ve been here and I’m so grateful for the opportunity and not only getting to play here but to be around a special place and special people that are within the organization. So those are things that I’m starting to look back on and cherish.”