The 2023-24 season did not have the strongest start for Jake DeBrusk. But luckily for him and the Boston Bruins, the second half of November saw him beginning to turn it around. He’s been looking more and more like the player people have come to know and expect him to be since getting his game back on track during the 2021-22 season.
Coming into the league, DeBrusk was noted for his scoring abilities, and he’s delivered on that. He has scored over 20 goals in three out of his six seasons (and in 2019-20, he scored 19, just missing that mark). He was a major contributing factor to the Bruins’ success last season, and if it weren’t for his foot injury at the winter classic, he would have most likely surpassed the 30-goal mark for the first time.
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With last season’s success along with the fact that he is in a contract year, expectations were high for DeBrusk entering into 2023-24. While his play wasn’t necessarily bad, he struggled to find the back of the net. Luckily, his luck seems to be turning.
Turning it Around for DeBrusk
DeBrusk’s first goal of the season came in his ninth game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 2. It remained his only goal through his first 16 games of the season, his second not coming until Nov. 22 against the Florida Panthers. For a guy known as a scorer, the lack of it is obviously a concern for himself and the team.
Still, DeBrusk didn’t necessarily look bad in the first few games. Through the first 14 games, the Bruins outscored opponents 7-2 at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice. He doesn’t look like he did back in 2020-21 when he only had five goals in 41 games. There are still strong elements to his games, and it feels like only a matter of time before more goals start to come.
There also definitely seems to be an adjustment this season to playing with a new center for DeBrusk after spending most of 2022-23 on a line with Patrice Bergeron. First, it was Matthew Poitras, and now Pavel Zacha. They look better and better together on a line as the season continues.
The play was still there, even if the goals weren’t, and it felt like it would only be a matter of time until the goals started coming. Slowly but surely, things are coming more together for him in the points category. He has four goals on the season, three of them coming in his last eight games. 57 games remain in the season, and if he sticks to the pace from the last eight games, he’ll finish with about 25 goals for the year. It wouldn’t surpass the 30-goal mark for the first time like many hoped he would this season, but it would still be a solid number that would remain consistent with what he’s done in his career so far.
Since the calendar flipped to November, DeBrusk has been shooting more, which is obviously going to help him get more goals. His current shooting percentage is 7.4%, well below his 12.6% average. But again, this is double the 3.4% he had through the first 14 games of the season, another indicator that he’s turned the corner.
I do think he is more like the player he’s been in the last eight games than what he was for the first 16. Slumps happen, and unfortunately, it came at the start of the season, but hopefully, this truly is the turning point that it seems to be, and DeBrusk can be the goal scorer he’s capable of being (and the one the Bruins really need) from here on out.
The Contract Year Factor
When talking about DeBrusk’s stats and performance this season, it is important to note that he is in a contract year, which can bring out both the best and the worst in players. There are obviously many guys, who have registered their best seasons in a contract year while other guys seem to crumble under the pressure.
In his young career so far, DeBrusk has had some up-and-down performances in contract years. In 2019-20, when coming out of his ELC, he registered only 19 goals and 35 points in 65 games, a step down from his terrific 2018-19 performance that saw 27 goals in 68 games. But 2021-22, his last contract season, was a huge step up from his disastrous 2020-21 season. That season had a slow start before he was able to turn it around, as well, resulting in his current two-year, $8 million deal. He might be a guy that has some rough patches when he hits a contract year.
I have mentioned before that I do believe re-signing him should be a priority for the Bruins heading into the next offseason, and even with a slow start, I still believe that to be true. With the cap set to increase by almost $4.5 million going into next season, they should almost definitely be able to afford him.
While the Bruins were in cap hell this past offseason, which is part of the reason they traded away Taylor Hall, with the current cap projections, the team should have almost $27 million to spend. The team’s other big priority will be coming up with a long-term deal for Jeremy Swayman. Still, there shouldn’t be a problem signing both players, especially now that they have some young, cheap options making the roster, like Poitras and Mason Lohrei (who could be ready for a full-time NHL gig for next season).
Now that the Bruins should be able to afford him, it will just come down to how much and how long the next contract will be. If he can stick to the pace he’s set in the last seven games since turning things around, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a three-four-year deal with an average annual value of around $5 million.
Moving Forward in 2023-24 Season
DeBrusk seems to be on the right track. He’s done the right things both on and off the ice. He’s taken responsibility for where he has gone wrong, whether it’s about his lack of scoring or his benching after he was late to a team meeting. Hopefully, he can continue to put the start of the season behind him and keep up his recent scoring pace.
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More than anything in 2023-24, DeBrusk should and most likely will continue to show his importance to the Bruins roster as he potentially faces free agency this upcoming offseason. Again, while he hasn’t been scoring at the same rate, he has still played well and found ways to make impactful plays on the ice. His defense and the two-way game has arguably never been better. His resilience is showing, and the goals will come.