Jake DeBrusk first tried to portray his baseline happy-go-lucky demeanor when he was asked about the upcoming trade deadline.
But the Bruins forward admitted that the uncomfortable look on his face was genuine.
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The NHL’s trade deadline comes March 8. DeBrusk is in the final year of a two-year deal for $4 million per year and will be an unrestricted free agent after the season at 27 years old. The Bruins, who have needs at forward and on defense don’t have much in the way of draft picks or prospects to deal and they’d need to free up cap space.
The Bruins would likely be interested in dealing either Matt Grzelcyk or Derek Forbort, who are also pending free agents, but DeBrusk’s age and upside might appeal more to another team and clearing his $4 million would open up room.
But then the Bruins would have to actually replace his contributions of the power play, penalty kill etc. He has 13 goals and 14 assists through 58 games.
“It’s in the back of everybody’s mind. Nobody’s really safe. It’s one of those times that’s always tense and stressful and as a fan it’s exciting and stressful as well,” said DeBrusk, who admitted he worries about it. “Of course I do. I’ve been around here long enough to know how the league works. I’ll be interested to see which teams are aggressive and which teams aren’t but you always have that in the back of your mind.”
Bruins captain Brad Marchand said the key for everyone is trying to block it out.
“It’s hard when you start worrying about things that are out of your control. You never really know how things are going to play out,” he said. “The biggest thing is just focusing on being here and trying to enjoy every day. The biggest thing is trying not to get caught up in it. We have enough to worry about outside of that. The more you let your mind wander, the tougher you make it on yourself. It’s tough. There’s a lot of chatter, you just have to stay away from it.”
