We are two weeks away from the NHL Draft on June 28/29 and two and a half weeks away from free agency on July 1. With the playoffs coming to an end, activity around the league is about to pick up.
The Flames find themselves with over twenty million dollars in cap space this summer. How they should spend it—if they should at all—remains to be seen. If they want to be players in free agency, one of the players who could be an option is Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk.
A source tells The Win Column that there is mutual interest between DeBrusk and the Flames. That’s not to say there will be a deal consummated on July 1, but it is certainly a possibility. DeBrusk also has mutual interest with the Edmonton Oilers and a third team, which I believe to be the Carolina Hurricanes.
Rumours with the Oilers and DeBrusk should pick up steam as the Stanley Cup Final comes to an end. The Oilers are cap-strapped, while the Flames and Hurricanes currently have ample flexibility.
Does it make sense for the team to pursue DeBrusk?
Not really. The Flames have a plethora of middle-six wingers already. In their current position, it makes little to no sense to commit term and/or dollars to DeBrusk. But, it would be a very Flames thing to do. Signing a player like DeBrusk just locks in the same old story going forward.
DeBrusk is a fine player, but he’s not a great or elite one. He’s a left-shot winger who can play either side and puts up 20-25 goals and 40-50 points. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Flames have a ton of the exact same player on their team already.
This next month is going to be an interesting one for the Flames. General Manager Craig Conroy had little flexibility to add or make changes to the team last summer. With a ton of cap space, it should be interesting to see what direction the team chooses to go in.
Photo from Boston Bruins on YouTube
