Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly will have interest in two Boston Bruins impactful players

Another Boston Bruins season came to an end Friday night in a 2-1 Game 6 loss to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With a season-ending loss always come change and that will be no different for the Black and Gold over the summer.

General Manager Don Sweeney will have a large amount of cap space available to him to build a roster for the 2024-25 season that will be better than the one that just surprised this past season with a second-place Atlantic Division finish and a first-round postseason victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Like Boston, Toronto will undergo some offseason changes and it already started with firing head coach Sheldon Keefe and hiring Craig Berube. Their roster will also undergo some change and they will reportedly have interest in a pair of Boston Bruins, according to The Fourth Period.

Jake DeBrusk

The first player they will likely have interest in if the Bruins don't reach an agreement before free agency begins on July 1 is Jake DeBrusk. Why not? The 14th overall pick of the 2015 Entry Draft was arguably Boston's best playoff performer with six goals and five assists while being consistent at even strength, on the power play and penalty kill. He still has hope of returning to Boston, but you have to think a deal likely would have already been done.

The Maple Leafs are going to be in the market for a top-six forward, mainly a wing, and DeBrusk fits that need. Of course, Toronto could re-sign former Bruin Tyler Bertuzzi and that might keep them away from DeBrusk, but making a run at him if he hits free agency is a no-brainer for Toronto GM Brad Treliving. DeBrusk has not had a 30-goal season yet, cracking the 20-goal mark three times. They would be taking a chance on him reaching that next season with the talent around him and it just might be worth them doing.

Linus Ullmark

The other player that Toronto may have an interest in is Linus Ullmark. That will be much more difficult for them to do since he has one year remaining on the four-year, $20 million contract he signed in July of 2021 that carries a $5 million AAV. Some feel that the Maple Leafs are a goalie away from really taking the next step to be contenders and Ullmark could be the missing piece they need.

Again, it won't be easy. Sweeney is not going to offer him to a heated rival and face him up to four times next season. I'm not sure Treliving would have a package good enough to pull this off as I'm sure Sweeney would ask for a major haul back. Now, could Toronto get a third team involved to get a deal done? Maybe, but that seems likely too much of a long shot. I get it, Toronto finally got past the first round in 2023 and if it wasn't for Jeremy Swayman, they likely would have beaten the Bruins this year, but couldn't finish the deal in Game 7.

It's very rare for the Bruins and Maple Leafs to make a deal and it's highly unlikely that they pull off a deal to send a Vezina Trophy-winning goalie to Toronto that could haunt them for a long time as you would think the Maple Leafs would give him an extension or re-sign him. Still, it wouldn't be surprising to see them make a push for DeBrusk to add a goal-scoring winger for the top-six. Things are sure to get interesting over the next six to seven weeks before free agency begins. Buckle up!