The Boston Bruins have finally signed Jake DeBrusk, inking the restricted free agent forward to a two-year deal. The new contract will carry an average annual value of $3.675MM. DeBrusk was not eligible for salary arbitration. PuckPedia reports the salary breakdown:
- 2020-21: $2.5MM
- 2021-22: $4.85MM
It’s hard to know exactly what DeBrusk is for this Boston team. Is he the fourth musketeer behind David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand, able to elevate a second line and provide enough secondary scoring to make the Bruins perennial Stanley Cup contenders? Or is he the inconsistent winger that scored just 35 points last season and bounced all over the lineup? After his 27-goal output in just 68 games during the 2018-19 season many may have answered the former, but this bridge deal proves that it is not yet decided.
Now 24, DeBrusk is a scouts dream, armed with speed, skill, and an in-your-face attitude that can knock opponents off their game (or into the press box). He has all the tools to be a top scoring threat in the NHL but is still frustratingly inconsistent and disappears too often. There’s no doubt that he can be an asset to any team, especially one like the Bruins who can usually (at least in recent times) look ahead to the playoffs before the season even begins. The postseason is where DeBrusk should thrive and he has shown he can be a difference-maker there, scoring 14 goals and 23 points in 49 games.
But the idea of signing him to a long-term, big-money deal still seems risky for the Bruins. This two-year bridge deal will give DeBrusk a chance to prove exactly what he is in the NHL and give Boston a better idea of how their financial situation will look down the road. Brandon Carlo will need a new contract after the upcoming season and Charlie McAvoy’s will now expire at the same time as DeBrusk—who, notably, will still be an RFA at the end of this deal. With Bergeron now firmly in his mid-thirties, David Krejci on the final year of his deal, and Zdeno Chara not even re-signed this fall, the veteran core of the Bruins could look very different by the time the team negotiates another contract with DeBrusk. If he has taken another step forward, perhaps he can be a part of the new core that takes over.
Of course, if there was any thought of moving on from the inconsistent winger this offseason, it probably went out the window when the Bruins received injury updates on Pastrnak and Marchand. Both players are expected to miss the beginning of the season after undergoing major surgery, meaning DeBrusk may actually get a chance to play next to Bergeron on the top line. At the very least he should receive increased minutes and a chance to prove he can produce at the very top of a lineup.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Good work, Demon Barber! There wasn’t a lot of faith on our side of the fence that you’d get this right. And, hopefully Jake sees this as the fair shake I was hoping he’d get.
Now does leave money for Hoffman ?
@mcase7187 – $2.98MM sound like Hoffman money? Unless they can find a way to move out a couple mil more, it’ll be a bit tougher no thanks to the COVID-crunch. It’s still theoretically do-able, as long as they can find a trade partner for somebody on the roster. And, of course, they would definitely need a “handshake agreement” with Hoffman beforehand.
I didn’t know how much cap space they had if I was them find someone to take Kase and (or) Wagner this could be their last good season so guys like them won’t put u over the top like he might be able to do
If they need more then can long IR Pasta Moore and Marchand
Sounds like they need about 2.75M give or take. I knew that John Moore contract was hot garbage on July 1 and would Did he have some photos of demon don? How did he get 5 freakin years. Donny loves him some #7 dmen
*come back to haunt them. Sorry I mini stroked thinking back to that day
I knew it was bad the day they signed him but for some reason they don’t want to or like to use their prospect pool
pasta maybe, depending on the restart. Marchand should be good to go, and Moore isn’t injured. honestly hoffman doesn’t make sense if they want to play bjork.
Bjork is another one they should trade like I said their window is closing so they have to do all they can to win now plus he’s had his chances and has shown nothing to warrant a shot
There’s been reports that Moore could be put on IR on this site so that’s what I was going with but they and I might be wrong idk
Bjork has no value. Like you said he’s had his chances and done nothing with them. Lots of time playing with 37 and 63 too
@wishyouwerehere – It must be because 7 is a lucky number! :)
@case7187 – CapFriendly and PuckPedia are good sites for cap stuff in general, if you don’t already have them bookmarked. Some of it can be a little tricky to navigate and sometimes requires a bit of extra reading to get to what you need.
Ya I found it yesterday but thank you this is very helpful whit being like most
That’s a decent contract for debrusk. Not sure why B’s fans always want the hottest FA out there. You want hoffman now, hall a couple months ago, bread last year, and on and on. You guys have more talent on that top line than about half the league has in their entire top six. Your squad can’t (and shouldn’t be able to) afford the top mercenaries. The issue is that goaltending has become spotty and losing krug is going to hurt, not scoring.
I don’t want Hoffman but that money could be helpful elsewhere
I’m sorry losing Krug is not going to hurt as much as you may think plus his value was scoring no D so that kinda proves that scoring is a problem and for the past 3-4 years scoring has been one of their biggest problems ( toughness is they other) we can’t live off of one line sorry