Jake DeBrusk officially wants out of Boston
The relationship between the Boston Bruins and Jake DeBrusk seems to have officially hit the point of no return, as the 25-year-old DeBrusk has officially requested a trade out of Boston. Word of DeBrusk’s request for a ‘change of scenery’ was confirmed by his agent, Rick Valette, to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug.
DeBrusk’s apparent desire to move on comes after the winger was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s win over the Canucks, with the hot-and-cold winger seemingly back in Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy’s doghouse.
Skating in his fifth full season in Boston, DeBrusk has totaled three goals and six points through 17 games in 2021-22. DeBrusk did his best to leave last year’s struggles behind him, too and started his season with a game-winning goal, but has once again battled consistency issues, with one goal in 13 games before landing back in the press box. With just eight goals and 20 points over his last 58 games dating back to the start of last season, there’s been little to celebrate for No. 74.
There’s been more than a few scratches for DeBrusk over that span, too, with the Bruins repeatedly demanding that DeBrusk be a more complete player when the points aren’t coming.
“What happens with Jake, what we’ve seen over the last few years is when the production is there, you’re getting more second effort. They kind of go hand in hand,” Cassidy said Sunday. “And when it’s not there, we lose it a little bit. That’s been the ask of him for a number of years now: no drop-off on this side of the ledger just because the production isn’t there.
“Any 20-goal scorer still only scores once every four games if they’re playing every game, more or less. You still need the other things. A little bit more of an ask, second effort away from the puck, working to keep it out of your net, etc..”
But it’s clear that DeBrusk, at this point, feels the relationship is beyond fixing with hard work.
Drafted with the No. 14 overall pick in 2015, DeBrusk has scored 70 goals and 140 points over 261 career games, and has 16 goals and 26 points in 59 career playoff games.
The Edmonton-born wing is also in the final year of a contract that comes with a $3.675 million cap hit, and will be an arbitration-eligible free agent at the end of the year.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
