Bruins, Don Sweeney Believe In ‘Path’ To Jake DeBrusk Return

BOSTON — If you had to narrow down the Bruins’ biggest postseason detriments, it’s safe to assume they’d primarily come on the offensive end.

Jeremy Swayman certainly wasn’t to blame.

The B’s were hampered by a number of things that led to their eventual exit in Game 6 against the Florida Panthers, but a lack of scoring is the easiest to identify. Boston’s special teams hit a wall toward the end, while scoring chances were few and far between. Jake DeBrusk found consistent offense, leading the Bruins in postseason goals (five), power-play goals (three) and points (11), while ranking second in shots on goal (26) — the rarest of jewels throughout their run, but the bad news is he’s headed for free agency.

Don Sweeney and Cam Neely identified speed and scoring as two primary focuses entering the offseason in Wednesday’s end-of-season press conference, so how will they approach things with their top internal free agent?

“We’ve (taken) an aggressive position with Jake, which is no different than other players that have chosen not to resign and explore, that’s within his right,” Sweeney said. “… Do I see a path? Yeah, there’s a path, I told him that at our exit meetings. He’s been a big part of our group, he elevated in the playoffs, and I would prefer to have Jake DeBrusk as part of our team, but he has some opportunity in front of him that he may pursue otherwise. I don’t have a clear answer for you today, but I know the position we’ve taken, we feel very comfortable, but it didn’t get to the finish line.”

Sweeney made sure to state whose court the ball is in, though.

“Again, negotiation is a two-way street,” he said.

It remains to be seen how much of a focus the Bruins put on DeBrusk’s free agency. He made roughly $4 million on his last contract and likely will look to add to that number moving forward.

Swayman’s eventual long-term contract should be priority No. 1, but DeBrusk might not be far behind on the list of internal priorities this summer.