Friday night, the Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive season by the Florida Panthers when the visitors scored the game-winning goal with 1:33 remaining for a 2-1 win at the TD Garden.
As has been the case the last two postseasons, the Bruins were unable to win on home ice against the Panthers and now have lost six straight playoff games in their home building over the last 13 months. That's not a good look and it's something that will need to change going forward.
One thing that's going to change again going forward and over the next four months before training camp begins in September for the 2024-25 season and that's the roster. There are a number of contracts coming off the books for GM Don Sweeney and he'll have a ton of cap space available to build his next roster. Just who is on that roster remains to be seen.
One player whom Sweeney will have a difficult decision with is forward Jake DeBrusk, who was arguably their best forward in the playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers. His two-year, $8 million contract that he signed in March of 2022 is up and for the first time in his career, he's a free agent. After the loss to Florida in Game 6, he tried his best to avoid a question regarding his future wearing the Black and Gold.
Jake DeBrusk gives subtle response after Game 6 loss to Panthers
After the Bruins lost to the Panthers, DeBrusk took several questions at his locker postgame, and one question, of course, was about his future in Boston and the left wing didn't really give a commitment one way or another.
"I’ve been busy … I’ve been playing, so I mean we just ended. So yeah, that’s something that hasn’t even crossed my mind to be honest. I’m just disappointed right now."Jake DeBrusk
That doesn't come as a surprise whatsoever. He's not going to touch that right after a loss, however, you can't help but feel like the Bruins are going to lose him for nothing. He's a nice depth-scoring piece they lacked in the series and playoffs as a whole.
DeBrusk doesn’t touch question about his future with Bruins.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) May 18, 2024
In 13 playoff games, he had five goals and six assists, including a beautiful pass to Pavel Zacha to send his teammate in on a breakaway late in the first period to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead when he beat Sergei Bobrovsky under the crossbar. DeBrusk revealed after the game that he played part of the regular season with a broken hand which hampered his play at times, but he was fully healed for the playoffs and it showed.
There is no doubt that there has been a lot of frustration between DeBrusk and the Bruins, but make no mistake about it, when he's on, he's a game-changer. It remains to be seen if Sweeney gives him the money he deserves or if someone else will.