The Boston Bruins love to get offense from the Perfection Line, but they need more production out of players like Charlie Coyle, Sean Kuraly and Jake DeBrusk.
Unfortunately for the latter, he has been performing inconsistently and management is taking notice. And they are making it known just like team president Cam Neely did this past summer in the postseason when he singled out DeBrusk who produced four goals in 13 postseason contests.
At the start of the season, it was head coach Bruce Cassidy’s turn to call him out, even making him a healthy scratch to find a solution to his scoring woes in the press box.
Now according to team insider Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic, the Bruins are looking at the option of trading DeBrusk, whose name has come up in rumours, however, something is stopping them.
Fear.
Here is how Shinzawa explains it:
“The conclusion the Bruins may reach is that DeBrusk serves them best in a trade. If so, they would be trading low. No opposing general manager would put his top cards on the table. The Bruins’ best bet would be receiving a similarly underperforming player.
The other issue is the possibility of a DeBrusk explosion.
Trades can shock young players awake to a greater degree than healthy scratches, benches and one-on-one meetings. Tyler Seguin was jolted like never before when the Bruins traded him to Dallas on July 4, 2013. The following season, Seguin became a point-per-game player for the first time in his career.”
What if the move gets him going as we all expect him to for his $3.675 million annual pay and then the Bruins are left sobbing with regrets…
In 21 games, DeBrusk has scored three goals, two of them on the power play. He is averaging 0.23 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, according to Natural Stat Trick. As of Wednesday night, he remained in COVID-19 protocol.
The Bruins want more and are also thinking about getting more for him in a move. But for now, they couldn’t ask for a whole lot and risk angering the 24-year-old and getting him good on another roster.
So, what should the Bruins do?
