Negotiations between Jake DeBrusk, his agent Rick Valette and Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney along with Assistant General Manager Evan Gold are about to get serious.
It all began in late August when DeBrusk told NHL.com “I’m hoping to stay [with the Boston Bruins]. It’s the only team that I know and the team that I grew up with. Hopefully it goes in that direction, and we’ll see how it goes. That’s why I have an agent, and I told him I wanted to stay out of this one and in time, it’ll be nice when it all gets done.”
Sweeney threw gas on the fire during his media availability when he said “We’re going to have communication with Jake and his representation [and] we’d like to know if Jake indeed does want to be here. And hopefully, we can find common ground.”
Word is that those initial conversations have taken place. However, finding common ground could take some time.
DeBrusk, or rather Valette will be looking for term with some sort of guarantee for his client. His new deal will surely be the longest deal of his career since signing his entry level contract back in November of 2015 – a contract that lasted five years because of the slide rule.
DeBrusk’s next two contracts were a two-year, $7.350 million deal and a two-year $8 million deal. His AAV will easily top that.
Our new friends over at Benchrates value DeBrusk at $6,745,318. Is their system perfect? No, but they continue to improve on a daily basis and are getting more and more accurate as they improve on their system. Is $6.7 million out of the ballpark? No, but a lot depends on the term.
We can compare DeBrusk to the recent contract signed by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, who signed an 8-year $52 million contract one month ago. While the Bruins would certainly be getting DeBrusk through his prime years, he is also almost 2-years older than Hagel and would be 35 years of age entering the final year of an 8-year deal.
On one hand, you have to be a little bit leery of that for a player like DeBrusk who relies so much on his speed. On the other hand, it’s an excellent bargaining chip to help reduce the AAV.
With the expected (and needed) big jump in the salary cap for next season, the Bruins have about $28.5 million in cap space thanks to our friends at CapFriendly. Along with DeBrusk, goaltender Jeremy Swayman will need a new deal. That’s plenty of room to sign the pair, add a marquee player and introduce some youngsters into the lineup.
For their part, Sweeney and Gold always seem to lock up their players early if they fit into their plans. DeBrusk will be no different. But if a deal isn’t done by trade deadline, then they will seriously consider moving him.
At this point, everyone knows where the other side stands.
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Dom - Hockey 