Jake DeBrusk entering important stretch
As the Bruins begin the second half of the 2023-2024 campaign, Jake Debrusk is entering a critical point in his career. The former first-round pick is a free agent at the end of the season. While he has been a points machine of late, DeBrusk still has much to prove.
In 47 games, the Edmonton native has scored 12 goals and dished out 13 assists. He has been effective on the power play with seven points, including five assists. After a slow start, DeBrusk has been much better of late and has shown why he was a top-20 pick.
However, like in years past, there have been stretches when he has struggled to put points on the board. In his first 31 games, DeBrusk only recorded four goals. Since the holiday break, he has 14 points in 16 games. During that stretch, the Bruins offense has been hard to stop.
Over the next few weeks, the Bruins must decide what to do with the talented winger. If they can't map out a plan where he is part of the future, he could be a valuable asset at the trade deadline. Despite the uncertainty, DeBrusk wants to stay with the Bruins.
"I always have optimism," DeBrusk told Boston.com's Conor Ryan. "I feel like it'd be pretty depressing if I didn't have optimism that I'd be here. But it's one of those things that I hope it gets done. I have an agent for a reason. And I've obviously been in this organization for my whole career."
With over 30 games left in the regular season, Debrusk is on pace to score 20 goals. It would mark the fourth time he has reached the 20-goal mark in his career. That is not easy production to replace, regardless of DeBrusk’s consistency issues.
DeBrusk’s future should become clearer in the coming weeks as more teams fall out of playoff contention.
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