Despite their current salary cap woes, Don Sweeney and the Bruins remain a franchise sitting pretty when it comes to the financial flexibility of their future.

Slated to have over $28.5 million in projected cap space for the summer of 2024, there’s no denying the Bruins’ future ability to make some big moves. That’s without factoring in what many expect to be a sizable cap increase following this season, too.

And while it’s obvious that the Bruins have their own list of wants to address with that money — the Bruins will be big-fish hunting for a top-six center and maybe even another high-impact, left-shot defenseman — the biggest in-house question mark comes with the status of pending unrestricted free agent Jake DeBrusk and his future with the team.

But based on the latest word from Sweeney, the Bruins are not overly interested in that being a question mark for too long.

• “We’re going to have communication with Jake and his representation [and] we’d like to know if Jake indeed does want to be here,” Sweeney said in his pre-camp press conference Wednesday. “And hopefully, we can find common ground. Besides that, you guys know enough that I’m not going to comment on anything publicly. But we’d like to see you see Jake remain with the Boston Bruins.”

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  Mar 23, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) reacts after scoring during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden. (Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports)

• It was this time two years that DeBrusk’s trade request remained on the table. Originally issued in the summer of 2021, and made public during the fall and following an early-season healthy scratch, DeBrusk played almost the entire 2021-22 season with a trade request hanging over his game.

  But the Bruins held firm and outright refused to sell low on DeBrusk, and when DeBrusk found some footing in a top-line role with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, the sides actually came to terms on a two-year, $8 million deal to extend DeBrusk’s time with the Bruins.

  Ending the season on a high, at least from a personal standpoint, DeBrusk officially rescinded his trade request in the summer of 2022, and proved to be an extremely valuable weapon to Boston’s top-six forward group.

  “Jake [DeBrusk] deserves a lot of credit,” Sweeney admitted. “He put all those things aside and just went out and performed and was on pace for a really and had a really good year. But even more so, battled through a couple of different injuries and came back and played well again. So, I think that’s Jake’s maturity both also player as a person and he’s an important part of our club. We hope him to have the season we expect him to do. He’s going to be a big part of that.”

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  Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

  Feb 18, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) prepares for a face-off during the second period against the New York Islanders at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• And DeBrusk, for what it’s worth, has said all the right things about his future in Boston. And speaking with NHL dot com earlier this offseason, DeBrusk seemed to indicate that it’s where he wants to be.

  “I’m hoping to stay [with Boston],” DeBrusk said in an interview with NHL dot com’s Derek Van Diest. “It’s the only team that I know and the team that I grew up with. Hopefully it goes in that direction, and we’ll see how it goes. That’s why I have an agent, and I told him I wanted to stay out of this one and in time, it’ll be nice when it all gets done.”

  Note the ‘when it gets done’ and not the ‘if it gets done’ from DeBrusk. In things like this, language tends to matter, and players will always be careful not to put themselves in hot water or outright lie just for the hell of it. (Nobody wants to be the next Kyrie Irving when it comes to that stuff.)

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  Feb 23, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk (74) is congratulated by teammates on the bench during the third period against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. (Stephen Brashear/USA TODAY Sports)

• What’s interesting about Sweeney’s comments is that he’s by all means putting the ball in the court of DeBrusk and his agent, Rick Valette, and saying let’s get a deal done if you really want to be here.

  This is something the Bruins have been relatively proactive about with core players. The Bruins made sure they locked up Brad Marchand early when they signed him what’s turned out to be an absolute steal of a contract, which was made official during training camp in 2016. The Bruins then negotiated with Charlie McAvoy throughout camp and came to terms on a long-term deal just one day before the home opener in 2021.

  Sweeney has also done some notable work in-season — the Bruins signed Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha to their current extensions in-season, and the Bruins gave David Pastrnak the richest contract in team history late into the 2022-23 season — but the DeBrusk talks seem to be of significant importance to the Bruins.

  That’s also because if DeBrusk and the Bruins cannot come to terms on an extension, there’s a legitimate case to be made for trading him while they can still get something for him, and with his value undoubtedly restored to its market value after a 2022-23 season that included a career-high in goals (27) and points (50).

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  Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 18: Jake DeBrusk #74 of the Boston Bruins celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Islanders during the first period at TD Garden on February 18, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• The 26-year-old DeBrusk’s average annual value on a long-term extension will also be a fascinating watch between now and his signing, be it in Boston or elsewhere.

  Given his age, the Bruins would be buying in on DeBrusk’s prime years, and a long-term contract could and would take him into his early to mid-30s. The recent contract extension inked between the Lightning and winger Brandon Hagel could provide a solid blueprint for what the Bruins are aiming for with DeBrusk, but it’s also entirely possible that DeBrusk’s price is even higher than Hagel’s given his slightly deeper resume.

  But based on what Sweeney said, there’s no denying that the status and future DeBrusk is looking like a top priority for the Bruins this season, and that ‘wait and see’ doesn’t appear to be a viable option for the club.

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