Jake DeBrusk, a forward who is a potential free agent, shares interest with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
DeBrusk’s $8 million, two-year contract with the Boston Bruins will expire, and he will become a free agent. On June 19, columnist Nick Kypreos, a former NHL player, revealed in his column that Toronto is considering signing DeBrusk.
According to Kypreos, “there’s word they might be interested in pending free agent Jake DeBrusk, who’s been a Leafs playoff killer over the years.”
Nick Alberga of The Nation Network reported after Kypreos’ report that there is mutual interest in DeBrusk, as the forward is keen to sign a free agent contract with the Maple Leafs.
In addition, Alberga wrote, “I learned over the weekend that the Leafs and Jake DeBrusk genuinely have mutual interest.”
According to DailyFaceoff.com, DeBrusk is expected to sign a five-year contract worth $6 million annually.
DeBrusk scored 19 goals and dished out 21 assists for 40 points in 80 games during his previous season with the Bruins. DeBrusk has a reputation for eliminating teams, as evidenced by his three goals and two assists for five points against Toronto in the Stanley Cup playoffs’ first round. In his 17 career games against the Maple Leafs, DeBrusk has 6 goals and 5 assists.
DeBrusk “Looking Forward” to Completing the Transaction
On July 1st, DeBrusk will become a free agent without restrictions for the first time in his career.
DeBrusk, a forward entering free agency, acknowledges that there is a business side to hockey, but he says he is just looking forward to closing a deal.
“I recognize that business is business,” DeBrusk stated, as reported by NHL.com. “I’ve spent some time here. I suppose I have some understanding of guys’ perspectives and typical working methods because I’ve witnessed a lot of deals with them. I guess I wasn’t totally shocked because I assumed it would be resolved quickly and everything would work out sooner. That being said, it took a lot of work and stress for me to get to this year, so to be honest, I’m just excited to get away.
Since Boston selected DeBrusk 14th overall in the 2015 NHL draft, he has been a member of the Bruins organization. He didn’t, however, make his NHL debut until the 2017–18 campaign, and he has been a full-time player ever since.
DeBrusk has also struggled with the Bruins; on November 29, 2021, the forward made a public request for a trade out of Boston. DeBrusk withdrew his request in July of 2022 after no agreement could be reached.
The Maple Leafs’ front office is adaptable.
After Toronto was eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the front office of the Maple Leafs has stated that they will review all options this summer.
Trade talks involving Mitch Marner and John Tavares have been rumored to involve Toronto since the season concluded. It remains to be seen whether either of them will be dealt because they would both have to waive their no-movement clauses.
The Maple Leafs have slightly more than $18 million in cap space going into the offseason. Nonetheless, Toronto possesses a large number of valuable free agents, including Joel Edmundson, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and RFAs Timothy Liljegren and Nicholas Robertson.
On July 1, free agency is scheduled to start.
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