Don’t expect to hear Jake DeBrusk chatting about his contract situation over the coming weeks and months.
Had the 2019-20 NHL season gone off as normal, DeBrusk likely would be in the midst of, or already have completed, his contract negotiations with the Boston Bruins. But the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the season back a few months, and thus free agency won’t take place until October.
DeBrusk will be a restricted free agent, and while Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said he’s willing to talk to free agents right now if they’d like, DeBrusk isn’t really itching to hammer out contract details.
“It’s kind of a weird position and it’s my first contract negotiation,” DeBrusk said in an interview with TSN’s Mark Masters. “Obviously, my main focus is on the team and to play the games. I don’t really want to be talking about money mid-series or anything like that, you know what I mean, so that’s my vibe on that. Just want to play it out and try and help the team win. Any time you have to go across the border in a pandemic you have different motivations than contract talks.”
It will be a busy offseason for the Bruins, who are loaded with pending free agents. Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara are among the unrestricted free agents, while DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk highlights Boston’s RFA class.
