The trade deadline has come and gone, and Jake DeBrusk is still a Boston Bruin.
Despite going public with his trade request in November, and despite signing a two-year extension earlier Monday that could have made it easier for the Bruins to move him, DeBrusk will remain in Boston at least through the end of this season.
After Monday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens -- a game in which DeBrusk was second only to linemate Brad Marchand in shots on goal (5) and shot attempts (9) -- DeBrusk met with the media and discussed what Monday was like for him and how he feels about not being traded.
“It was definitely a difficult day. It’s been a difficult week,” DeBrusk said. “It’s one of those things where, like I said, it was a difficult week. There’s a lot of uncertainty. You don’t necessarily know. That’s the one thing I’ve taken away from it, from past 4 p.m. today, is that I haven’t felt clarity in three months. I haven’t known if I’m gonna go, where I’m gonna go, any of that kind of stuff. Now I know. It’s nice to kind of have that done with.”
DeBrusk was then asked if he views the rest of this season as “making the best of a bad situation” or if he’s feeling positive about being on a playoff team.
“I don’t look at it as a negative situation,” DeBrusk said. “Any time that you can play for a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup, that’s a positive. That’s why I play the game, is to win the Stanley Cup. I’m comfortable with these guys. I grew up with this team. I was drafted by them. It’s one of those things where it kind of hits you a little bit in a sense, but it hits you in the right way.
“Obviously I’m playing on a very good line at the moment. I’ll do anything I can to stay there and help the team win. Like I said, it’s all about winning the Stanley Cup at this point. I think anybody can get behind that.”
DeBrusk has been playing right wing on the Bruins’ top line with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron (minus Bergeron for the last three games due to an arm infection). With the team not acquiring any forwards before the trade deadline, DeBrusk will remain there as long as he plays well enough to keep the job.
Marchand, who scored two goals Monday night including the overtime winner, said he understands why things played out the way they did with DeBrusk, and that the expectation going forward will be for DeBrusk to continue to work hard like everyone else.
“That’s how it goes. I understand the way everything kind of played out. The team’s gonna do what’s best for the team, not what’s best for individuals,” Marchand said. “If it didn’t work, it didn’t work. Jake’s here, he’s part of the group moving forward, and we expect him to be part of the group and compete and work every day, the same way everyone else is expected to. We’ve been going pretty good as of late as a group and he’s fitting on our line, so we’re gonna need that to continue moving forward.”
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