Boston Bruins Re-Sign Jake DeBrusk
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
Urho Vaakanainen, Cooper Zech Loaned Overseas
Two young Boston Bruins defensemen have been loaned overseas this morning, with Urho Vaakanainen heading to SaiPa in Finland’s top league and Cooper Zech heading to HK Nitra in Slovakia. Both players are expected back in North America when NHL training camps open.
Vaakanainen will grab the headlines here, especially after his name was included in trade speculation recently. The 21-year-old defenseman was a first-round pick in 2017 but has played just seven NHL games to this point. That doesn’t mean his potential has diminished, but the clock is ticking on his opportunity to show he can be a legitimate top-four option for the Bruins.
For now, Vaakanainen will return to the club he played for during the 2017-18 season, the last before he came to North America. The 6’1″ defenseman scored 11 points in 43 games as a teenager for SaiPa that year, while also suiting up for the Finns at the World Juniors. The shine that surrounded his prospect status then has dulled a bit in the meantime, so this is a great opportunity to get back on the ice and prove his development has not stalled.
For Zech, simply getting into some more games is the most important part of his loan. The 21-year-old signed a two-year with the Providence Bruins of the AHL in the spring of 2019, leaving Ferris State after just one season of college hockey. He scored 14 points in 45 games for Providence this season but needs to produce at an even higher rate if he is to ever be considered for an NHL spot.
Ekman-Larsson Could Still Be Traded To Bruins
The Arizona Coyotes, attempting to free up some salary during the offseason, tried to trade their top defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. With a no-movement clause embedded within his eight-year, $66MM contract, Ekman-Larsson only gave the team two teams, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, he would be willing to accept a trade to and refused any other suggestions. It proved to be a challenging task for new general manager Bill Armstrong and with no quality offers from either team, the Coyotes opted to keep him in house.
However, Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty writes that there remains a chance that the Boston Bruins could still end up with Ekman-Larsson. While the Canucks have since acquired Nate Schmidt to augment their defensive corps, the Bruins still have a number of holes in their defense after the departure of Torey Krug to St. Louis and with the uncertain status of veteran Zdeno Chara. The team only has three established top-four players in Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo and are hoping veterans Kevan Miller and John Moore can bounce back or youngsters Urho Vaakanainen or Jakub Zboril can step up and establish themselves as full-time players next season.
However, if the team can’t get some of those defensemen to take that next step, the Bruins might be more open to re-engage with Arizona about trading for Ekman-Larsson. With Krug gone, it’s likely that McAvoy and Grzelcyk would see a jump in their offensive numbers next year, but the team could definitely benefit from a player who has scored 10 goals of more for six straight years (would have been seven had the league not been shut down due to COVID-19), as well as two 20-goal seasons.
While Ekman-Larsson gave Arizona a window of time earlier in the offseason to send him to either Vancouver or Boston, that window has closed. However, in a recent interview with Coyotes’ insider Craig Morgan (subscription required), Ekman-Larsson suggested he’d still be open to being traded.
“That’s a question for (GM) Bill (Armstrong) to be honest with you,” said Ekman-Larsson. “There’s not much I can do about it. I’m just trying to stay in the moment. I know everybody says that but I really had a good offseason. I worked out really hard to show that I wanted to be here, wanted to get better and hopefully that transfers into the stuff on the ice. I feel really happy that I am here but if that day comes where they ask again, I will deal with it then.”
Haggerty writes that the likely timeline for a trade would be closer to the trade deadline as the Bruins want to give Vaakanainen and Zboril a chance to prove that they can handle everyday NHL duties first. If one or both can step up and prove themselves, then the team doesn’t have to do anything. However, with many questions if they are potential top-four options down the road, the team could choose to add Ekman-Larsson for their stretch run.
Boston has approximately $6.7MM in available cap space, which sounds good if they want to go out and get Ekman-Larsson. However, the Bruins still have to work out a deal with restricted free-agent Jake Debrusk and still hope to bring Chara back, if he so chooses. That likely will use up their remaining cap space. Haggerty writes for Arizona to make the trade work, the Coyotes would have to take back Moore’s contract. The veteran still has three years at $2.75MM and potentially another contract. Boston would almost certainly have to include a prospect like Vaakanainen as well.
Bruins Shopping Urho Vaakanainen
Even with the addition of winger Craig Smith in free agency this offseason, many have expected the Bruins to make another addition of note. With the free agent market slowing to a crawl, it seems as if GM Don Sweeney is looking at trying to trade for that piece now. To that end, Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty reports (subscription link) that the team is trying to move defenseman Urho Vaakanainen.
The 21-year-old was the 17th overall pick back in 2017 but hasn’t seen much action in the NHL since then, getting into just two games with Boston in 2018-19 and five last season where he averaged nearly 17 minutes a night. Vaakanainen has spent the majority of his time in North America at the AHL level with Providence where he posted five goals and nine assists in 54 games last year. The point total isn’t particularly high but as more of a stay-at-home defender, he’s not expected to put up flashy numbers.
The Bruins certainly have a hole on the left side of their back end following the departure of Torey Krug to St. Louis in free agency while long-time veteran Zdeno Chara is still on the open market. At this point, no additions have been made on the blueline and as a result, Vaakanainen is someone that could be a candidate to break camp with Boston.
But for a team with win-now aspirations, having a relatively unproven youngster in the lineup (whether it’s Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, or someone else entirely) carries some risk. As a result, Vaakanainen may be more valuable to the Bruins as a piece in a trade for an impact defenseman than as a prospect that they hope could one day become a regular in their lineup.
One thing that Sweeney has going for him that most teams don’t is cap space. While winger Jake DeBrusk remains unsigned, they currently have a little over $6.6MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, which is more than enough to get him signed and still have room to add on the back end. It appears that Vaakanainen could be used to try to help land that piece.
Agent Notes: Survey, Peterson, Clarke
While general managers and other NHL executives are usually seen as the ones with the most insight on the free agent and trade markets and player values, on the other side of the table agents also have their fingers on the pulse of the game. The Athletic’s Craig Custance recently asked 21 of the top NHL player agents to answer some questions on recent results, the current off-season, and what to expect in the future. Among the most noteworthy responses were their thoughts on how teams have performed in the fall markets. A major rivalry may be renewed, as the highest vote-getter for best off-season was the Montreal Canadiens, while the Boston Bruins received the most votes for incomplete off-season. While agents liked how Montreal has added up front, they have concerns about Boston’s defense in the wake of Torey Krug‘s departure. As for projecting upcoming moves, some may be surprised to hear that the top vote-getter for “highest profile player you expect to change teams in the next year” was Buffalo Sabres superstar Jack Eichel (tied with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine), as many felt that Eichel and new addition Taylor Hall will not be enough to right the ship in Buffalo and one or both will be gone next summer. As for the coming season, two-thirds of those polled believed the 2020-21 season will exceed Custance’s over/under of 55.5 games in length. The vast majority also feel that NBC will retain exclusive television rights in the league’s new contract, but many feel ESPN will be a factor and could at the very least force a split. For more on the opinions of the NHL’s top agents, check out the rest of The Athletic’s survey results.
- One high-profile agent could soon be changing his allegiance from the player side to the team side. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Brett Peterson of Acme World Sports is in talks to join former colleague Bill Zito with the Florida Panthers. Zito, recently named GM himself, already added one fellow former player agent in Paul Krepelka as an assistant GM but could fill the other AGM vacancy with Peterson. The Boston College grad has over a decade in the business, having joined Acme back in 2009.
- The agent for top 2021 prospect Brandt Clarke is reportedly trying to get creative. Clarke, a real candidate to go first overall in next year’s NHL Draft, is currently without a place to play as he waits for the OHL to kick off in February. Wanting as much exposure this year as possible, Swedish source Expressen writes that Clarke is considering a move to Vasby IK of the minor league Allsvenskan for the time being until he can return to the Barrie Colts. The elite two-way right-handed defenseman would step into an immediate top role with Vasby, even as he makes his pro debut, as the club is dead last in the Allsvenskan and desperate for help. In what could prove to be a savvy move by his agent, if Clarke can help turn the struggling Vasby club around, it could provide the boost to his draft stock that lands him at No. 1.
Free Agent Profile: Anthony Duclair
It’s hard to believe that a player who was named to the all-star game just last year would still be sitting on the free-agent market at this point in the offseason, however, Anthony Duclair remains one of the top names in free agency who hasn’t found himself a home one month into it.
On the surface a 25-year-old all-star unrestricted free agent is a rarity as most big-named free agents are older when they hit UFA status the first time. Of course, much of that is due to the fact that the Senators did not qualify him, leaving him a free agent. Regardless, Duclair is coming off a great season in which he tallied 23 goals and 40 points in his first full season in Ottawa and looked prime to sign a long-term deal with the Senators this offseason. On top of that, he is also a fast skater, placing sixth in the fastest skater contest at the all-star game last year. However, Duclair struggles significantly in one area that could be keeping him from being signed — his defense. He is a goal scorer first, and there is a significant step back on his defensive efforts, one that former Columbus Blue Jackets’ coach John Tortorella mentioned before the team traded him to Ottawa back at the trade deadline in 2019.
Strangely enough, however, despite the belief that Duclair would dominate on the power play and not even play on the penalty kill, it’s the exact opposite. Duclair struggled on the man advantage at times during the season, while actually providing solid play on the Senators’ penalty kill, which makes things even more confusing.
However, another fact that stands out is that Duclair dominated the first half of the NHL season, scoring 21 goals and 33 points in 47 games. While the second half of the season was suspended, he only tallied two goals in 19 games following the all-star game, a significant drop off, making him one of the more unique players with little consistency.
Potential Suitors
While many people figured that Duclair had a good chance to sign a long-term deal with Ottawa this offseason, that never materialized. Duclair fired his agent and opted to represent himself. He was supposedly offered a two-year deal at $3MM AAV and turned that deal down, believing he could get more on the open market. However, no deal has materialized in this depressed market and now with Ottawa having brought in Evgenii Dadonov and Alex Galchenyuk, it’s extremely unlikely that the Senators will bring back Duclair even if he accepts a lesser contract.
Other teams still may be interested, although a deal is likely to come closer to when training camps begin. There are a number of playoff teams that might be interested in bringing in the 25-year-old as a second or third-line option on a short-term deal, but Duclair might have to accept less from those teams than the deal that Ottawa offered in the first place.
The Nashville Predators, who are looking for more firepower for their team, have been mentioned as one team that is looking at both Mike Hoffman and Duclair as options, although Hoffman could be the team’s first choice. However, Duclair might be a good fit, who could battle for a spot on the team’s second line there.
Other playoff teams like the Boston Bruins, the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche as options, but many of these teams might be more likely to look and see what they have in training camp before bringing in Duclair.
Projected Contract
Representing himself may have been a mistake as the forward now may be forced to accept less than the two years at $3MM AAV that he reportedly declined earlier in the offseason. He will almost assuredly will have to accept a deal with little term, either a one or two-year deal, but may have to take something significantly less than what he rejected in the first place.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NCAA Notes: Peski, Blake, Anchorage
Just like many pros, some recent college graduates are still unsigned free agents trying to find their way in a quiet market. One name who has finally found a pro home is former University of North Dakota defenseman Andrew Peski. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports that Peski has signed an AHL contract with the Providence Bruins. A heavy-hitting, stay-at-home defender, Peski actually saw a significant uptick in offense as a senior, recording 10 points after totaling just 11 points in his first three collegiate seasons combined. Still, Peski served as a four-year starter for North Dakota because of his defensive ability, exemplified by a +17 rating for the top college program last year. He will try to be a value to the junior Bruins in the same way and could find himself playing a regular role in the AHL right away. Boston has just four defensemen signed who are ineligible for waivers and certain to start the year in the minors, as well as two prominent AHL-contracted blue liners returning in Josiah Didier and Cooper Zech, but that group of six includes just two right-handed defenseman, which could leave a hole for Peski.
- A major hockey name is in the spotlight as Jack Blake, son of Los Angeles Kings GM Rob Blake, is following in his father’s footsteps with his college commitment. Blake, who currently plays in the OJHL with the Oakville Blades, will head to Bowling Green State University next year, the league announced. Rob played three seasons with the Falcons in the late 80’s before jumping to the NHL, but Jack may need that extra year in the NCAA to secure an NHL contract after going undrafted. Jack also still needs to do some growing to match up with his father’s hulking frame, but the younger Blake plays the same dangerous two-way style. He will certainly bear watching as he begins his collegiate career next season.
- Count the University of Alaska-Anchorage among those NCAA programs who will not be participating this year. The school has independently canceled all winter sports, meaning they will not compete in WCHA hockey this season. While Anchorage currently has no drafted prospects, their alumni include a number of former and current NHLers, highlighted by Jay Beagle and Curtis Glencross. The lost season will unfortunately hurt the team considerably, as many players have already stated their intent to transfer.
Marchand, Pastrnak On Schedule In Recoveries From Surgery
- Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin, that both Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are on track in their recoveries from mid-September surgeries. Marchand had sports hernia surgery that carried a four-month recovery timeline while Pastrnak was set to miss five months after hip and shoulder procedures. Depending on when next season starts, Marchand may not miss too much time but Pastrnak is set to miss a decent chunk of the year.
Recent Ryan Strome Deal Likely Sets Ceiling For Jake DeBrusk's Contract
While the Rangers and center Ryan Strome are content with the two-year, $9MM deal he signed earlier this week, Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty posits that Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk’s asking price likely was negatively affected by this signing. While the two situations are different – one was arbitration-bound and the other just coming off an entry-level deal – Strome’s $4.5MM price tag will be difficult for DeBrusk to eclipse on his next contract after he came off of a career-best 59-point season while DeBrusk had a career-low 35. The 24-year-old is a good candidate for a bridge contract over the coming weeks and doing so would also give Boston a little bit of cap flexibility if GM Don Sweeney has his eyes set on trying to add someone else to their roster.
Bruins Working On Short-Term ECHL Arrangement With Jacksonville
- While the Bruins saw their ECHL affiliate in Atlanta opt out of participating this season, they appear to be working towards finding a short-term replacement as Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that they are in talks to place some players with Jacksonville (an affiliate of Winnipeg). The Icemen are one of the teams that will start the season next month so reaching an agreement with them would allow Boston to potentially send a few prospects there for some game action.