Unless there’s a major change of heart from either side, it appears that Jake DeBrusk will soon be an ex-Bruin.
Speaking with reporters in Las Vegas before Friday’s draft at the Sphere, Bruins GM Don Sweeney said that he and DeBrusk’s camp have not had any fruitful discussions on an extension.
“I suspect Jake will head to UFA and test the market. We remain consistent that we’ve been in negotiations and haven’t had any productive talks in quite some time,” said Sweeney. “At the end of the day, that’s his prerogative to see what July 1 brings for him.”
If DeBrusk walks, which more often than not is what happens when a free agent in his prime gets to July 1, that would be a considerable loss for a team that already has holes to fill up front.
DeBrusk did not exactly hit it out of the park in his contract year. He posted disappointing 19-21-40 totals, though there were some extenuating circumstance as he played much of the second half of the season with a broken hand. He led the Bruins in playoff scoring in the spring with 5-6-11 totals in 13 games.
The B’s had also developed DeBrusk, a member of the much maligned 2015 draft class, into a multi-dimensional player. He came into the league as a player who needed to be scoring goals to make any kind of impact to one who is now a proficient penalty killer who can play either wing.
Part of the reason that the B’s may be willing to part with DeBrusk is the fact that they are focused on improving the center position.
“We’d like to deepen the middle of the ice with us. That’s where we’ve been focused in trying to have those talks with our guys to say ‘Who would be the guy?” and make hopefully the pitch at the right time and add a player of that nature,” said Sweeney. “I think we’re going to continue to look to strengthen our back end and complement the group that we have there. And then from there, it’s how much of the pie is left, with the clear acknowledgment that Jeremy (Swayman) is part of that equation, too. In a perfect world, you have a deal done there prior to (July 1) but that’s OK. There’s plenty of space and we’ll find a deal for Jeremy and make him a Boston Bruin. And we just have to attack. I can’t tell you that we’re going to satisfy every need our group had identified or (the media) have identified. But we are going to be aggressive in trying to improve our hockey club.”
Depending on the term, a new deal for Swayman could cost an average annual value of up to $8 million, which would take a big chunk out of the $21.599 million they have to spend.
Still, that leaves enough for Sweeney to look at the top shelf for centermen, which could include the likes of Elias Lindholm, Chandler Stephenson or maybe even a Sean Monahan, who had a strong bounce-back season.
As for defensemen, the player they target could very well depend on what they have to allocate to the pivot position. Ideally, it would be a left shot D-man. The deep end of that pool includes Nikita Zadorov and Brady Skjei….
Goalie room set
One thing the B’s won’t be in the market for will be a goalie, not after obtaining Joonas Korpisalo in the Linus Ullmark trade just after re-signing Brandon Bussi.
There’s been a lot blowback on taking back Korpisalo, primarily because of the rough year he had in Ottawa (3.27 GAA, .890 saver percentage). But Sweeney said that goalie coach Bob Essensa had done a lot of research, particularly on Korpisalo’s short but effective run with the Kings after being acquired at the trade deadline two seasons ago. Sweeney feels that in the B’s system and working with Essensa, Korpisalo can return to the best version of himself.
That’s not to say he’ll be handed the job.
“I don’t want to lose sight of Brandon. He’s paid his dues. He wants his opportunity in the National Hockey League. If he beats out, in this case in all likelihood Joonas, then we’ll have to give him the opportunity,” said Sweeney.
Loose pucks
The B’s picked up the 25th overall selection in Friday’s first round in the Ullmark deal, but Sweeney sounded like he’d be open to moving it. While he didn’t want to rule out moving up, he said the more likely scenario would be to move down.
“Ideally, we provided a shock to the scouting staff in a good way,” said Sweeney of the pick acquisition. …
Sweeney said he’s remained in contact with Danton Heinen’s agent but they haven’t yet connected on a deal.
“In a perfect world you get Danton back because of the versatility and the quality of person and what he brought to our hockey club. There’s other areas we’re trying to target in our free agency period, so it’s to be determined on that front,” said Sweeney. …
Sweeney said that Brad Marchand had a clean-up surgical procedure, though he did not specify what needed attention.
