Jake DeBrusk is ready to put his tumultuous 2021-22 season with the Boston Bruins behind him.
The 25-year-old winger made headlines last November when he formally submitted a trade request. The Bruins ultimately decided to hold onto him despite trade rumors flying up until the April 12 deadline.
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DeBrusk ended up signing a two-year contract extension with Boston in March and rescinding his trade request during the offseason. On Tuesday, he explained why he had a change of heart.
"At the end of the year, I said that I would talk to my family and kind of think things over. I think the biggest thing, honestly, was the support I got from the guys in this room last year," DeBrusk told reporters. "I think that was one thing where it felt like it was obviously a lot of stuff coming my way for obvious reasons. The guys in this room really kind of kept it tight and kept it as one, and that's something I've always loved about this team. I've always loved the boys and also the city and everything else.
"I mean, this is what I know, this is what I'm comfortable with, and it wasn't honestly that hard of a decision to make. It was one of those things that I talked about it for a little bit and I was leaning that way and that's when it happened I guess."
One popular theory is that DeBrusk rescinded his trade request following the Bruins' firing of head coach Bruce Cassidy. Rumors had swirled about Cassidy having complicated relationships with his young players, namely DeBrusk.
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So, was there any truth to that? DeBrusk unsurprisingly declined to give a definitive answer.
“I mean, hey, you know, that’s been speculated enough, I think,” DeBrusk said. “I think, you guys know, I see stuff. And obviously, that’s an easy answer. But it’s one of those things that, you know, we could talk and talk about. I respect that you guys, obviously, your jobs are to ask those type of questions. And obviously, it’s one of those things where, you know, it’s kind of interesting. You have lots of hot topics, or different things about the situation, even why i asked for a trade.
“But I am just looking forward to this year, I think I said that, the end of the year, it was against Montreal that I was looking forward to not having to answer those questions anymore. It’s one of those things that’s in the past, and this whole summer has been focused on getting right and getting ready for this season. That’s kind of how I view that question.”
With Cassidy joining the Las Vegas Golden Knights, Jim Montgomery will be DeBrusk's new head coach in Boston. The young forward is looking forward to having a clean slate with new leadership.
“It’s a fresh start obviously," DeBrusk said. "There’s different systems, maybe there’s different things — we’ll all find that out as we go along through this training camp. But I think that it definitely brings a new element to it obviously. It’s gonna be different than any other camp I’ve been here before. So it’s exciting and it’s makes you eager for training camp."
The new-look Bruins will begin their preseason on Sept. 24 against the Philadelphia Flyers.