Two key Boston Bruins players are allegedly of interest to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It has been rumored that two Boston Bruins players who were key performers in the 2023–24 campaign are of interest to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Boston Bruins’ season came to an end on Friday night with a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 6. Transformation always follows a season-ending defeat, and the Black and Gold will experience that same transformation this summer.
With plenty of cap space at his disposal, general manager Don Sweeney can assemble a team for 2024–25 that will be superior to the one that shocked everyone last year by finishing in second place in the Atlantic Division and defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs.
Similar to Boston, Toronto will make some offseason adjustments; Sheldon Keefe, the head coach, was fired, and Craig Berube was hired. They will apparently be interested in two Boston Bruins, and their roster will also likely change, according to The Fourth Period.
DeBrusk Jake
If the Bruins are unable to come to a deal before July 1st, when free agency opens, Jake DeBrusk will be the first player they will probably be interested in. Why not? Probably Boston’s greatest postseason player, the 14th overall selection in the 2015 Entry Draft contributed six goals and five assists while being dependable at even strength, on the power play, and on the penalty kill. Although there is still a chance that he would return to Boston, one must assume that a deal has been reached by now.
DeBrusk fulfills the necessity that the Maple Leafs will have for a top-six forward, mostly a wing. Of course, Toronto might re-sign former Bruin Tyler Bertuzzi, which might deter them from pursuing DeBrusk, but general manager Brad Treliving of Toronto would be foolish to pass up a chance to sign him should he become available to play. DeBrusk has cracked the 20-goal barrier three times, but he has yet to have a 30-goal season. With all of the quality surrounding him, they would be taking a chance, but it might be worthwhile. They would bet on his making it to that next season.
Linus Ullmark
Linus Ullmark is the other player in whom Toronto might be interested. They will find it far more difficult to accomplish that because he only has a year left on his $20 million, four-year contract, which he signed in July 2021 and has a $5 million AAV. Some believe Ullmark may be the missing component the Maple Leafs need to go from being contenders to really taking the next step, and they are just short of a goalie.
It won’t be simple again. Next season, Sweeney will not offer him to a bitter opponent and play against him up to four times. Treliving might not have a package strong enough to pull this off, since Sweeney would probably demand a significant haul back. Could Toronto now enlist the help of a third team in order to complete a deal? Perhaps, but that feels like a far too distant possibility. I understand that Toronto would have probably defeated the Bruins this year if Jeremy Swayman hadn’t prevented them from making it past the first round in 2023, but they were unable to seal the deal in Game 7.
The Bruins and Maple Leafs seldom work together, so it’s extremely improbable that they would strike a deal that would send a Vezina Trophy-winning goalie to Toronto. If they did, it would be a long-term nightmare for them since you would expect the Maple Leafs to grant him a contract extension or re-sign him. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be shocking if they tried to convince DeBrusk to bring in a goal-scoring winger to round out the top six. In the next six to seven weeks before free agency kicks in, things are expected to get intriguing. Fasten your seat belt!
