The Boston Bruins have locked up David Pastrnak. On Thursday morning, after trading for Tyler Bertuzzi, it was announced that Pastrnak and the organization had agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth $11.25 million per season. Pastrnak, 26, has played in 60 games with the Bruins this season, recording 42 goals and 38 assists for 80 points with a plus-27 rating.
An elite,top-five NHL winger, this is a huge, but fair deal for both sides. Depending on how much the salary cap goes up in the next few seasons, this could even be considered a deal in a couple of years’ time. He is clearly the team’s biggest star and losing him to free agency would have been a massive blow for the franchise. Pierre LeBrun writes, “JP Barry has been negotiating since September. An absolute grind of a negotiation. But got it done.”
Popular Twitter account @JFreshHOckey writes that Pastrnak can best be described as: “an elite sniper, a brilliant scorer with excellent puck skills who creates chances in all kinds of ways. Dangerous off the rush, the cycle, off one-timers, on the powerplay, etc.”
The 8-year, $90 million contract extension is the sixth-largest deal in NHL history by total dollars. Ahead of him is 1. Shea Weber: $110m 2. Sidney Crosby: $104.4m 3. Nathan MacKinnon: $100.8m 4. Connor McDavid: $100m 5. Erik Karlsson: $92m.
This was a big morning for the Bruins. They added a skilled power forward and locked up their franchise winger.
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