BOSTON -- The Bruins lost a lot of offensive firepower in the offseason and are in the process of integrating a few young, inexperienced players into their forward group.
It might take some time for these young guys to fully adjust to the speed and physicality of the NHL game. Therefore, it's important that the Bruins' veterans lead the way and produce offensively early in the season.
One forward who will play a hugely important role in that is Jake DeBrusk.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
You could argue DeBrusk is under more pressure than most Bruins players entering the 2023-24 campaign. There are two main reasons for that: He's entering the final year of his contract without an extension at this time, and as a player capable of scoring 30 goals, his offense will be crucial to the Bruins' chances of winning.
More Bruins coverage
There's not much new on the contract extension talks between DeBrusk and the Bruins. B's general manager Don Sweeney was asked about the process Monday during a Media Day press conference and only said that there were "ongoing discussions."
Re-signing DeBrusk to a long-term deal would be a smart move for the Bruins. He's in the prime of his career and, if healthy, should regularly score between 27 and 35 goals. He's versatile enough to play both left and right wing, and he's shown an ability to produce in pressure moments, evidenced by his 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his last 14 playoff games.
Of course, the salary has to work for both the player and team. The Bruins could have as much as $25 million in salary cap space next summer if the cap ceiling is around $87 million, per CapFriendly.
One of the arguments against signing DeBrusk is inconsistency, although he was much better in that regard last season. He went goalless in more than four consecutive games just three times in 2022-23 en route to tallying a career-high 50 points (27 goals, 23 assists) despite playing in just 64 games due to a leg injury suffered during the 2023 Winter Classic.
“I think Jake has matured both on and off the ice, and gone through some ups and downs associated with that," Sweeney said. "Last year, coming back from two separate injuries was important for our hockey club and important for Jake, because sometimes you'd seen him dip when he came back in those situations. And he really didn't, so I think the drive is there.
"I think the confidence in his game as a two-way player, be incorporated and probably play even more so on the penalty kill is a real feather in Jake's cap and the coach's cap to see it. He’s got great hockey sense. He has the tools to be an impactful player. It's always been about consistency with Jake, we all see it. You just expect to see it on an absolute nightly basis, and he's getting closer to that.”
One of the strongest cases for re-signing DeBrusk is he's currently a much better two-way player compared to his first couple seasons. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery helped DeBrusk defend better and more aggressively last season, even giving him penalty kill shifts. Turning good defense into scoring chances at the other end of the ice is something Montgomery wants to see more from DeBrusk this coming season.
“There’s three things that make him so valuable to our team,” Montgomery said of DeBrusk. “One is his swagger. He has this quiet confidence that comes off and, I only heard it a few times, but I think the players hear it a lot. He brings humor at the appropriate times that let’s everybody know everything’s gonna be OK. He has a quiet, confident swagger that really helps our group.
“I think, two, is that his best games come from when he’s really tenacious on pucks forechecking, stripping people from behind or playing fast defensively, which creates offense. I think he’s always dangerous offensively, but that makes him really dangerous. More so, he gets more chances when he’s like that.
"And the third thing was that communication with him is important, letting him know his value to the team and how important he is, and that those details I talked about, how they help the Bruins be successful."
Opposing teams are going to put even more attention on trying to shut down David Pastrnak with Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi no longer on the team. The Bruins need another winger to step up and produce more offensively. DeBrusk -- and Pavel Zacha -- are two players who need to take their game to another level.
If DeBrusk is able to do that, and stay healthy, the Bruins would be wise to bring him back on a long-term extension.