What’s happening with Jake DeBrusk right now is that he’s on fire. DeBrusk scored twice in the Bruins’ 3-2 victory in Seattle Thursday night, including the overtime winner. He now has four goals in the last three games, he's playing on the first line, and he has scored in three straight contests for the first time in two years.
What’s going to happen with DeBrusk over the next three-plus weeks leading up to the NHL trade deadline remains to be seen, but it’s a conversation that is only getting more interesting by the day (and by the goal).
DeBrusk, of course, went public (via his agent) with his request that the Bruins trade him three months ago. That trade request is still hanging out there, but general manager Don Sweeney has not been able to find a deal he likes.
DeBrusk publicly commented on the request for the first time late Thursday night, when he met with reporters in Seattle after the game for his first press conference in three months. You can read his full comments here, but the gist is that he’s not going to answer questions about it, he doesn’t want to be a distraction, and he wouldn’t say if he’s changed his mind at all (which probably means he hasn’t).
Regardless, DeBrusk playing as well as he has over the last week is obviously good news for both him and the Bruins. It also changes this whole conversation a bit.
For much of these three last three months, it hasn’t felt like DeBrusk’s value has been particularly high -- to Boston or to other teams. Sure, he was a solid enough bottom-six wing for the Bruins, but it didn’t feel like the Bruins’ season was going to be dramatically altered, for good or bad, whether they traded him or hung onto him. Reports indicated Sweeney was having a hard time even getting another depth player for him, in part because teams were wary of the $4.41 million qualifying offer DeBrusk would be due as a restricted free agent after the season.
DeBrusk's value is now on the rise, though. Certainly for the Bruins, at least. DeBrusk joined Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the Bruins’ top line Thursday. While both of his goals actually came with different combinations on the ice, that trio looked good together, with the Bruins outshooting the Kraken 9-3 when they were on the ice and creating several high-quality chances.
If DeBrusk can continue to play well in that spot, it would solve a major lineup question for the Bruins. It would allow Bruce Cassidy to keep David Pastrnak with Taylor Hall on the second line and keep Craig Smith with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic on a third line that has played well for a couple weeks now.
The question, of course, is whether it solves anything for longer than a couple weeks. At some point soon, the Bruins are still going to need to make a decision about whether to pull the trigger on a trade. For now, DeBrusk is saying the right things and seems to be legitimately excited about playing on a line with Bergeron and Marchand. His goal celebrations Thursday night clearly featured some energy and joy that wasn’t always there earlier in the season.
“It’s a great honor to play with two Hall of Famers,” DeBrusk said Thursday night. “Just wanted to try to get on pucks and try to win some races on the forecheck, take away the goalie’s eyes, just simplify my game. I think I’ve gotten some puck luck the last little bit, so it’s been trending in the right direction. So I was really excited, for sure.”
Cassidy, with whom DeBrusk has clearly not seen eye-to-eye in recent years, likes what he’s been seeing from DeBrusk recently. He also liked what he heard from DeBrusk when the two talked about the possibility of DeBrusk moving up in the lineup and over to right wing.
“I did have a discussion,” Cassidy said. “I don’t want to go into every detail, but the gist of it was -- and I’ll be upfront and honest, and he actually said it, ‘These are two Hall of Fame guys.’ I said, ‘Exactly. And they have a standard they want to play to every night.’ I guess the crux of the conversation was, ‘Are you willing to put yourself in that position where the standard is every night? Go against top-pair defensemen and good lines and be able to play a 200-foot game?’
“And then it’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want.’ That’s what you want to hear. ... He was very open to it, and wanted it. And as a coach, that’s all you want to hear. We’ll see how it plays out. So far, so good.”
There are a few different ways Sweeney and the Bruins can proceed with DeBrusk from here. They can try to trade him right now while he’s hot, but that requires some team to up its offer, first and foremost. It could also leave the Bruins with a hole in their top nine if they don’t acquire a like-for-like forward in return.
If that kind of deal still isn’t out there yet, they can continue to wait for a better offer as the trade deadline gets closer. Of course, that risks the possibility of DeBrusk cooling off and having his value drop again.
There is certainly still the possibility that a deal doesn’t get done at all, too. The Bruins are not going to trade a player who can play pretty much anywhere in the lineup for scraps. They obviously have not gotten what they believe to be a fair offer yet. If they still don’t before March 21, is there a way for Cassidy and DeBrusk to make this work through the end of the season?
DeBrusk probably wouldn’t be thrilled if his request isn’t honored before the deadline. There would be a risk of losing him mentally for the stretch run and the playoffs. But keep in mind that DeBrusk still has a next contract to play for, whether he’s finishing the season in Boston or elsewhere. Money is usually a good motivator.
And hey, if he ends up sticking on the top line with Bergeron and Marchand, DeBrusk just might be a little more open to hanging around.
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