Jake DeBrusk Can ‘Write A Big Check’ In The Playoffs

Say what you want about the streaky intervals of Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk in the regular season; he consistently steps up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That was the case again in Game 1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday as Jake DeBrusk scored two power play goals in a span of 2:32 late in the second period to help the Bruins earn a dominating 5-1 win. DeBrusk now has an astonishing six goals and four assists in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also has 24 goals and 15 assists in 74 career playoff games.

“The kid ramps it up in the playoffs, especially against the Leafs,” an NHL scout opined to Boston Hockey Now on Sunday. “He had a rough season stats-wise, but this is when you make your money, and if he can keep this up, he can write a big check in July.”

Jake DeBrusk is in the final season of a two-year, $8 million ($4M AAV) contract and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. There has been no indication from DeBrusk, his agent Rick Valette, or Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney that DeBrusk will or won’t reach unrestricted free agency, but DeBrusk has been steadfast in expressing his desire to stay after asking out in the 2021-22 season.

“That’s what I’ve been consistent with since – I think the first time I was asked was in the summer – but yeah. This is all I know, and I grew up here and have obviously evolved and grown in different ways. It’s one of those things where I want to win here. We were one game away in ’19, and I want to win a Cup here in Boston. So that’s my complete focus,” DeBrusk told Boston Hockey Now back in January.

He reiterated that stance after he made it through the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline but Sweeney was less committal to bringing back the 6-foot-1, 198-pound, 27-year-old winger he drafted with the 14th overall pick at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

“We place a high value on Jake, and we’ve negotiated to a level we feel comfortable with in all situations. Look, we respect the player, and they feel where their value is, and there’s a gap. That’s why contracts eventually get done or don’t,” Sweeney explained in his post-NHL Trade Deadline press conference. “So I’ll leave it at that because, like I’ve said, we have other players who are in the same situation.”

If DeBrusk keeps doing what he did in Game 1, though, his dismal offensive season (19 goals, 21 assists in 80 games) will be forgotten on the open market, and Sweeney could be left wishing he closed that contract gap before the season began.