Jake DeBrusk has one goal and one assist in his last 13 games. He has 13 goals and 27 points in 58 games for the season. Last year through 58 games, he had 24 goals and 47 points. He is a pending free agent. His current contract does not include any trade protection.
Is this Bruins team worth significant deadline investment?
It is not a surprise, then, that DeBrusk’s name is once again part of the trade deadline conversation. The Bruins could use another reliable scorer in their top six to supplement David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle. DeBrusk fit the bill last season, and Boston had hoped he would again this year. So far, that hasn’t happened.
If general manager Don Sweeney wants to upgrade his top two lines before the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline, he would need to move out salary somewhere. DeBrusk and his $4 million cap hit would be one option. Even accounting for the down season, there would likely be some interest from other teams.
DeBrusk has been here before. Trade rumors are nothing new for him. Two years ago at this time, when he had a pending trade request, it seemed like a near-lock that he would be dealt. Instead, he signed a two-year extension to remain in Boston on deadline day.
That doesn’t make these next nine days any easier, though. Meeting with the media on Wednesday, DeBrusk said there has not been any progress made on an extension, and acknowledged that it’s hard not to worry about his future. DeBrusk has said on multiple occasions this season that he wants to remain in Boston.
“Of course I do [worry],” DeBrusk said. “I mean, I understand. I feel like I've been around here long enough to know how the league works and that sense of things. Obviously, there's different things – guys get injured around the league and different stuff that kind of happens that is out of normal control. So, it'll be interesting to see what teams are aggressive, what teams aren't. But, of course you always have that in the back of your mind. Obviously two years ago was a little more intense on that side of things, but I think ever since I've been here, I've been worried.”
It’s obviously not ideal for the Bruins to have DeBrusk or any other player worrying about the trade deadline, but it’s the reality of this time of year, especially for a team like the Bruins that does not have the luxury of adding players without subtracting someone from the active roster.
Captain Brad Marchand is one of the Bruins who can feel secure, but he knows that’s not true for all his teammates. His message for DeBrusk and others: Focus on what you can control.
“I think everybody gets nervous trade deadline, except for maybe Chuck [Charlie McAvoy] and Pasta [David Pastrnak],” Marchand said. “I think the biggest thing is that it's hard when you start worrying about things that are out of your control. You never really know how things are going to play out, but the biggest thing is just trying to focus on being here, enjoying every day.
“So yeah, the biggest thing is just trying not to get caught up in it. We have enough to worry about outside of that. So, the more you let your mind wander, the tougher you make it on yourself. … It does get tough, because there's a lot of chatter about it, but we just have to try to stay away from it.”
Focusing on finishing games
After a day off Tuesday, the Bruins returned to work Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena, and the focus was clear: They have to play better in the third period when protecting a lead.
In four of their last six games, the Bruins have blown a third-period lead and ended up in overtime. It happened three times on their four-game road trip that wrapped up Monday in Seattle.
“Usually every game is its own animal, but it seems like on this trip, almost every game was the same,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “It felt like we were in the same routine going into the third, and it just worked itself out that way.”
Wednesday marked the Bruins’ first full practice in 10 days. Montgomery is optimistic that a return home, some needed on-ice work, and a team meeting to address the tentative play in third periods will lead to some improvement.
“That's really what we discussed today as a group,” Montgomery said. “When you look at the overall week, it seems to be happening everywhere, but we concern ourselves about us and how we're playing. When we look at the last two games … Vancouver had a little bit of a push. We don't feel Seattle had so much of a push. It was more of our lack of poise with the puck and game management that allowed them to get the opportunities to get back in the game.”
Montgomery identified the problem as being “90 percent” about attitude rather than execution. He wants his team to be more aggressive in trying to extend leads and play with the puck rather than sitting back and playing tentative.
“That's exactly it. I felt we were tentative in Seattle,” he said. “You have to play to extend leads and to own the clock, instead of not wanting the puck. I'm not saying we played that way, but it looked like that and it felt like that.”
Related
Lindholm back on the ice
Defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who missed the Bruins’ four-game road trip with a lower-body injury, was spotted on the ice before Wednesday’s practice.
That’s an encouraging sign, but Lindholm is not ready to return yet, and there hasn’t yet been a change to his “week-to-week” status.
“He's just starting his progress back,” Montgomery said of Lindholm. “So, he's still not available over the next couple of days, and we'll just see how it progresses after that.”
Another lineup shakeup
There was some notable lineup news at Wednesday’s practice. Up front, Montgomery loaded up his top line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak flanking Charlie Coyle. After one game on the fourth line, James van Riemsdyk was back in the top six, riding with Pavel Zacha and Jake DeBrusk on the second line.
Anthony Richard moved the other direction, dropping back down to the fourth line with Jesper Boqvist and Justin Brazeau after a temporary promotion to the Marchand-Coyle line. The third line was Morgan Geekie centering Danton Heinen and Trent Frederic.
Marchand-Coyle-Pastrnak has been a good top line. The Bruins have outscored opponents 9-6 during their 123 5-on-5 minutes together this season and have an expected goals share of 58.9%.
The question it raises is, can the Bruins get enough production from a second line to justify keeping those three together? It’s been a mixed bag. This combination of van Riemsdyk-Zacha-DeBrusk has outscored opponents 3-1 during their 38 minutes together, but the Bruins have also been outshot 26-15 and have an expected goals share of just 44.4%. That would suggest that the 3-1 advantage in actual goals is probably not sustainable.
The Bruins have to figure out how to get more forwards going, including all three members of that new second line. DeBrusk has one goal in the last 13 games, Zacha has none in the last nine, and van Riemsdyk has zero points in the last five.
Asked how he handles situations where multiple forwards are slumping at once (Marchand and Geekie have both gone a bit quiet in the goal-scoring department, too), Montgomery said he tries to meet with each one individually and review video of good and bad habits.
“Talk to individuals, show individuals some tape, especially where they're not being assertive offensively,” he said.
The Bruins’ defense pairings remained the same as Monday, which meant that Derek Forbort lined up as the seventh defenseman. Forbort was scratched for Monday’s game after missing a team meeting. That was just a one-game punishment, but the lineup Wednesday suggests he could be a healthy scratch Thursday against Vegas. Forbort had been struggling even before the benching.
Eichel’s streak of not playing in Boston continues
Speaking of Vegas, Bruce Cassidy and the defending Stanley Cup champions make their lone visit to TD Garden Thursday night.
One important note, and one that adds to an odd streak: Star center and North Chelmsford native Jack Eichel is not expected to play. Eichel suffered a lower-body injury when these two teams met in Vegas on Jan. 11 and hasn’t played since. He is with the Golden Knights on this trip and started skating with them again on Tuesday, but Cassidy said on Wednesday that it’s unlikely Eichel will be ready for Thursday.
Incredibly, Eichel has not played in Boston, and in front of his family and friends in the area, since 2019, due in large part to a variety of injuries. It appears that streak will continue.
The Golden Knights, who are also missing top winger Mark Stone, have been in a bit of a rut themselves. They enter Thursday with a 2-4-1 record over their last seven games, although they did just destroy the Maple Leafs, 6-2, on Tuesday. They remain safely inside the playoffs, sitting in second place in the Pacific Division with 73 points on a 33-19-7 record.