Bruins

Jake DeBrusk had an up-and-down 12 months in the course of the 2023-24 regular season, but he got here alive within the playoffs when the Bruins needed him most.

DeBrusk led Boston within the playoffs with a team-leading 11 points (five goals, six assists). Despite Friday night's second-round loss, the 27-year-old perfectly arrange the Bruins' only goal of the elimination game, feeding Pavel Zacha an extended backhand pass for a breakaway.

It was a welcome surprise to see DeBrusk swinging such a hot bat within the postseason, considering he was extremely cold offensively for much of the top of the regular season.

As it seems, there was a deeper reason for DeBrusk's slump that went beyond a simply explained scoring draft that comes up on occasion.

“It was a tough regular season, I struggled with a few injuries. “I broke my hand,” DeBrusk told reporters Friday evening. “Probably didn’t really heal until a week before the playoffs. So I knew my playoffs would be better. I could shoot the puck using my bottom hand.

“The medical staff did a great job making sure I was ready to play and so on, but there were a few things that happened this year that made it frustrating not being able to do that and honestly feeling like I was limited .” . I attempted to play through it, considering I could help the team in alternative ways. … But I knew I used to be going to have a great playoff, I had confidence in it.”

Another aspect of DeBrusk's tumultuous season was the uncertainty of his future in Boston. The forward's name got here up quite a bit across the trade deadline, and while he wasn't sent elsewhere midseason, he doesn't have a brand new contract with the Bruins either.

DeBrusk shall be an unrestricted free agent this offseason for the primary time in his profession, and He didn’t answer a matter about his future with the organization on Friday evening.

DeBrusk entered the league in 2017 and spent all seven of his NHL seasons with Boston.