Loss of DeBrusk being felt as ex-Bruins wing makes return with Canucks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Jake DeBrusk was a polarizing player in Boston, but he also was an effective goal scorer, and the Bruins are missing that element throughout their lineup over the first quarter of the 2024-25 NHL season.
DeBrusk was part of the infamous 2015 NHL Draft for the Bruins. He was the second of three consecutive first-round picks the B’s made from No. 13 through No. 15. He was the only one of the three to have any sort of career at the NHL level.
The 28-year-old wing spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Bruins before leaving to join the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent back in July. He signed a lucrative seven-year, $38.5 million contract. He’ll make his return to Boston on Tuesday night when the Canucks make their only appearance at TD Garden during the regular season.
“It’s definitely weird being back. I was here for a long time, since I was 18, so it’s pretty much a second home in some ways. It’s nice to be back in this area,” DeBrusk told reporters Monday after Canucks practice at Boston University.
DeBrusk said throughout his last year with the B’s that he wanted to stay. But he admitted Monday that once the Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he pretty much knew his time in Boston was up.
“I didn’t want to believe it, really, but it was probably when we lost. Probably when it was over. I knew it was over at that point,” DeBrusk said. “I didn’t know for sure, but I just didn’t think they’d do anything different, which they didn’t really. At that point with the decision, you move on, right? But it was tough. It’s tough always with losses but that one was where I knew inside.”
Leaving Boston was difficult for DeBrusk. You build a lot of relationships and create a lot of memories over seven years.
“Oh yeah,” DeBrusk said. “I went through a lot with some of the guys on the team that are still there. It kind of brings back everything. It’s closing a chapter of your life. You try to look at it from the other side, but at the same point, it’s also excitement. It’s been an exciting second chapter for me in terms of my career here in Vancouver.
“I feel like I made the right decision for myself and my future. And the guys here have been great. But it definitely wasn’t a hoorah moment if I’m looking back at it. We have emotions. We’re people.”
DeBrusk’s…