Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub wrote the latest on the Boston Bruins contract negotiations with pending unrestricted free agent forward Jake DeBrusk. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney spoke with the media Thursday and did little to hide the fact that the Bruins would like to re-sign the 26-year-old to a long-term contract extension.
Sweeney told reporters that the club would like to see DeBrusk remain with the Bruins and will continue to engage with him and his agent in hopes of finding common ground on an extension. The Bruins are tight to the cap for this upcoming season but at the moment are slated to have $28.5M available in cap space (CapFriendly) next summer before any cap increases. Sweeney’s comments echo what DeBrusk told NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest back in August when he said he would like to remain in Boston long-term.
Given where both sides appear to be it seems likely that a deal can be reached, which would take one item off Boston’s to-do list over the next year. The Bruins will enter this season with tempered expectations after winning the President’s Trophy last season and suffering a historical upset at the hands of the Florida Panthers. Boston lost a lot of pieces to free agency and retirement and will have far less depth than they did last year.
The DeBrusk situation could have a happy ending after the relationship between the player and the club appeared rocky just a short time ago. Back in November of 2021, DeBrusk was benched by former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, and this prompted DeBrusk to request a trade. He eventually rescinded his trade request and had a terrific bounce-back last season posting 27 goals and 23 assists in 64 games.
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