The Bruins didn’t do much trade-wise on Monday, merely adding depth defenseman Josh Brown. Their big move, of course, came on Saturday, when they acquired their new top-pairing D-man in Hampus Lindholm.
It was an interesting day on the Jake DeBrusk front, though. The Bruins announced a surprising two-year, $8 million extension for DeBrusk in the morning, which most assumed was a step taken to make it easier to finally fulfill his trade request later in the day.
There was no trade to follow, though. DeBrusk remains a Bruin for the rest of this season, and now possibly beyond depending on whether there’s a trade to be made in the offseason.
He hit the ice as the Bruins’ first-line right wing Monday night in Montreal, and with no other forwards brought in via trade, that is where he’s expected to remain as long as he plays well enough to keep the job.
Meeting with the media late Monday afternoon, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney addressed DeBrusk’s status with the team. Asked if he was concerned about DeBrusk’s mindset taking a turn for the negative after not being dealt, Sweeney struck a more optimistic note.
“No, actually I think it’s the other way around,” Sweeney said. “I think this really puts some clarity for Jake in the sense that, he doesn’t have any trade protection, so we could’ve moved him prior to the deadline. We could revisit in the summertime. He could also go forward, most importantly, with just playing hockey and realizing that he’s a big part of our team.
“He’s gone in and played well with [Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand]. Hopefully we’re going to have that when Bergy gets back. We’re going to need Jake. We feel that he’s an important part of our hockey club. We wanted him to feel that way. It also sends a message to the rest of everyone that had -- there’s clarity there in moving forward if we were going to explore something. Didn’t really mean today at all, just means moving forward. The impact that he can have on our hockey club, we believe in.”
Sweeney said he did continue to discuss possible trades involving DeBrusk on Monday, but that nothing materialized that made sense for the Bruins.
“I’ve been having discussions on Jake for months. Today wasn’t any different in terms of where teams thought he fit into their group and what they were trying to do,” he said. “Some teams were down the road on other things, and we’ll pivot back maybe. But it doesn’t really matter at this point. Like I said, sent a clear message to Jake and he sent one to us, that he just wants to play hockey. Bottom line is he knows he’s an important part, if he plays to his capabilities, he’s going to help us and help himself.”
In a video posted by the team, Sweeney added that he’s happy with the way DeBrusk has been playing. After a slow start to the season, DeBrusk had 10 goals and six assists in his last 26 games entering Monday.
“Well, really happy,” Sweeney said. “Production has come back online, complementing two elite players. It’s a hell of an opportunity for Jake. We just felt that this would take away some of the ambiguity surrounding Jake, and his wanting to play hockey and focus on that. … The most important part is Jake’s happy to be situated where he is, to be playing hockey, and to be focused on hockey between here and the end of the year.”
Related
