In today’s edition of the Boston Bruins News & Rumors article, the topics range from a potential star trade target to a former Bruin making the NHL Hall of Fame and Jake DeBrusk’s future as a restricted free agent.
Bruins and Eichel Trade Rumors
For weeks there has been speculation that Jack Eichel’s time in Buffalo is limited. While the Sabres have made numerous changes to their roster, front office and coaching staff in recent years, the team has still struggled to turn a corner and find any success.
Holders of the longest active playoff drought in the NHL and just one-season shy of tying the all-time record, the Sabres haven’t been good in recent history and Eichel, the Sabres captain, has clearly grown tired of the stagnancy.
Naturally, the rumors of Eichel to Bruins have floated around given the fact that the star forward is from the Boston-area and is close friends with Bruins’ defender Matt Grzelcyk.
On paper, the Bruins would love to have Eichel on the team as he is a 23-year-old with franchise-level talent. In reality, though, the hurdles to get a player like Eichel on the Bruins are almost too much to surmount right now.
For starters, the Bruins are a division rival to the Sabres. Because of this, the Sabres, who will likely be reluctant to move Eichel in the first place, are even less likely to move him to the Bruins.
For the sake of argument though, let’s say the Sabres do intend on moving Eichel and they’re fine with him playing within the division. The price would undoubtedly be high for a player like Eichel but it would cost even more given that divisional factor.
The Bruins are certainly going to avoid moving players like Charlie McAvoy in any trade, let alone a trade that would also have to include other big-ticket names on the roster or in the prospect pool as well as draft picks.
Even if the two parties could come to terms on a deal, though, the Bruins would then have to consider the fact that Eichel’s cap-hit is $10 million for the next six seasons with a no-movement clause in the final four years.
While that’s standard for a star player, it’s also out of the realm of possibility for the Bruins right now given the young players they still have to pay moving forward.
Eichel could end up in Boston one day, but it likely isn’t happening any time soon.
Jarome Iginla Named Hall of Fame Inductee
Jarome Iginla is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2020.
Though Iginla’s time in Boston may have been short, it was still vastly successful and memorable nonetheless.
The Bruins would aim to acquire Iginla at the 2013 NHL Trade Deadline and though they though they had finished the deal to bring him to the squad, he’d eventually be moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins instead.
Just one season later, the veteran forward would sign a one-year deal in Boston and would instantly fill a hole left by Nathan Horton on the Bruins’ pseudo-top line.
Related: The NHL 600-Goal Club
He’d score 30 goals and 61 points in 78 games that season before adding five goals and seven points in 12 playoff games.
He’d finish his career with 625 goals and 1,300 points in 1,554 games and will now officially be enshrined as one of the greatest to ever do it.
Jake DeBrusk’s Free Agency Future
When the Bruins eventually start thinking about their offseason affairs, one of the biggest topics of conversation will surround DeBrusk and his future with the team.
While NBCSN’s Joe Haggerty has mentioned that DeBrusk will likely be paid by a team other than the Bruins, it probably isn’t as clear-cut as saying he’s going to be traded somewhere else.
For DeBrusk, the hope is that he won’t enter into any sort of holdout. He’s familiar with the process of restricted free agency as he saw both McAvoy and Brandon Carlo negotiate their terms last season. While both settled on bridge-deals that help the Bruins now but will ultimately get them bigger pay-days down the line, DeBrusk’s ceiling isn’t quite as clear as his teammates.
This is where Haggery finds issue in paying the 23-year-old somewhere in the realm of $4.5 to $5.5 million per season.
Still, DeBrusk seems to have interest in returning to Boston though he understands the business side of things plays a role.
“Obviously that’s going to be my situation [as an RFA]. Hopefully not [as a holdout], but maybe, possibly next year just looking around the league you see different things with guys dragging it out,” said DeBrusk. “It’s one of those where you ask questions on the business side of it. Things change and different stuff happens with talks, but at the same time I mostly just try to stay out of it. I try to stay dialed in to get ready for training camp and the season. I guess when that time comes, though, I’ll be more aware of what to expect.”
For now, DeBrusk and the Bruins are focusing on the continuation of hockey and the 2020 NHL Playoffs. There will come a time, though, when they’ll have to figure out if DeBrusk’s future is in Boston or if it will end up being somewhere else entirely.
