Boston Bruins Player Ratings: Jake DeBrusk

Heading into the 2023-24 season, the Boston Bruins and their fans were excited to see what Jake DeBrusk would bring to the court after putting up extension-worthy numbers a year earlier in the 2022-23 season.

Although DeBrusk will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 unless the Bruins sign contracts in late June, there is no reason why DeBrusk shouldn’t at least get a chance to dip his toe into free agency. After all, he had never been there before.

That’s not to say that DeBrusk didn’t help the team throughout the year, because he definitely did, anchoring the team’s wings wherever he played, picking up the slack from teammate Brad Marchand when he needed it, or just playing an important role when he had to. I needed.

Throughout the regular season, DeBrusk was a solid player for Boston. He played a career-high 80 games, scoring 19 goals and scoring 21 points.

He also narrowly exceeded his average time on ice from last season of 16:49 (compared to 16:46). While DeBrusk was a fixture on the power play the year before, he played a big role on both special teams this year.

During the kill, DeBrusk scored two shorthanded goals. He also added two goals from penalties to this total. He also played on the power play, scoring two goals and dishing out eight assists for a total of 12 special teams points on the season.

What impressed fans the most was his postseason performance.

When you look at the Bruins’ numbers when it comes to scoring and collecting assists, who would you think of? Most of you would associate yourself with David Pastrnak or the above-mentioned Marchand.

While you’d be right about the assists for Marchand (seven assists), you’d be wrong about the goals for both of the other two. The player who led the Black and Gold offense in the postseason was actually DeBrusk.

DeBrusk led the team in scoring with 11 and goals with five, but only trailed Marchand in assists. Some might say it’s too little too late considering how Boston’s playoffs ended, and they wouldn’t be wrong, but to say that’s where the story ends would be wrong.

While DeBrusk’s numbers won’t blow anyone away, he played a solid role on a team that desperately needed support for Marchand and Pastrnak. He and James van Riemsdyk have done a solid job of holding down the fort when needed this season. Not great, but not terrible either.