Last summer, Jake DeBrusk requested a trade following a difficult 2020-21 season that saw him relegated to bottom-six minutes and healthy-scratched multiple times. His agent went public with the request this past November after DeBrusk was once again healthy-scratched amid a slow start.
This summer, DeBrusk rescinded that trade request. A lot had changed since November. DeBrusk had finished the season strong while playing right wing on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. He had signed a two-year extension on trade deadline day. And the Bruins had made a coaching change.
Jake DeBrusk addresses his rescinded trade request
DeBrusk met with reporters following Tuesday’s captains’ practice and addressed his decision to rescind the trade request for the first time.
“I think at the end of the year I said I would talk to my family and kind of think things over. I think the biggest thing, honestly, was the support I got from the guys in this room last year,” DeBrusk explained. “I think that was one thing where it felt like a lot of stuff was kind of coming my way, for obvious reasons, and the guys in this room really kind of kept it tight and kept it as one.
“That’s something I’ve always loved about this team. I’ve always loved the boys, and also the city and everything else. This is what I know. This is what I’m comfortable with. It wasn’t honestly that hard of a decision to make. And saying that, obviously building off last season. It was one of those things, I talked about it for a little bit and I was leaning that way, and then that’s when it happened I guess.”
News of DeBrusk rescinding his trade request broke just a few weeks after the Bruins fired Bruce Cassidy, with whom DeBrusk had clearly butted heads, and just a few days after they hired Jim Montgomery as his replacement.
Asked on Tuesday if the coaching change factored into his decision to remain in Boston, DeBrusk sidestepped the question and neither confirmed nor denied it.
“It’s been speculated enough, I think,” DeBrusk said. “I think you guys know how I see stuff. Obviously that’s an easy answer, but it’s one of those things we could talk and talk about. I respect you guys, obviously your job is to ask those questions. Obviously it’s one of those things where it’s kind of interesting, you can have a lot of hot topics or different things about the situation, even when I asked for a trade.
“But I am just looking forward to this year. … That’s in the past, and this whole summer has been focused on getting right and getting ready for this season. That’s kind of how I view that question.”
Obviously, that answer isn’t going to do anything to lessen speculation that Cassidy’s status was a factor. Sources had previously indicated that it wasn’t the only factor, though -- a desire to play higher in the lineup also played a role. DeBrusk got to do that during the second half of the season and is expected to start this year in the top six again.
Related
