Some behavior in the Stanley Cup Playoffs crossed the bounds of decency.
Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk revealed to The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter on Thursday he received death threats during the first-round playoff series versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. DeBrusk’s multiple altercations with Leafs center Nazem Kadri during Game 2 made him the target of ire for some fans, who used Twitter and Instagram to threaten the 22-year-old’s life.
“Pretty much anywhere I looked,” DeBrusk said of the death threats. “I got the apps off my phone. I didn’t really need to see that.”
DeBrusk didn’t allow the menacing messages to distract him from the task of beating the Maple Leafs. Nevertheless, he admits they upset him somewhat.
“It didn’t really get to me, but it was kind of just there, and it wasn’t really stopping,” he said. “I tried to defuse it. Especially when it gets to family, it gets different.
“I don’t think there’s really a time or a place for death threats. But it’s 2019 social media. There’s people who are on the other side of that as well. They’ll think you’re a god, or they’ll want to, you know, kill you. It is what it is. You can’t take it too seriously either way.”
DeBrusk said the threats motivated him during the series and he now is glad to be done with the Maple Leafs and bitter fans for the time being.
“The way to go about it is we won the series,” he said, “and I won’t have to deal with them for at least another year.”
