Bruins Exploring Their Options With Pavel Zacha

This past season was a very nice one for Bruins center Pavel Zacha.  Thought to be in some trade speculation over the summer, a move never materialized.  That certainly worked out well for both sides.  Zacha had a career year, scoring 30 goals and 35 assists in 78 games despite his ice time dropping by more than two minutes per night.

The timing of that offensive performance was great for Zacha as he’s set to enter the final year of his contract next summer.  As a result, he’s eligible to sign a contract extension as of July 1st.  Given how things went in 2025-26, it would be logical to think that Boston’s focus right now would be getting the 29-year-old signed to a contract extension.

However, it appears that isn’t entirely the case.  In his latest column for The Athletic, Pierre LeBrun reports that while Boston’s top priority this summer is to sign Zacha to a contract extension, they’re also listening to overtures from other teams about trying to acquire the veteran.

It’s important to note that listening to offers isn’t exactly the same thing as actively shopping Zacha’s services.  But given his value to them and their need for an impact middleman, it’s interesting that they aren’t shutting down inquiries either.  Of course, it could just be a case of seeing if a too-good-to-be-true offer was to come in.

On the extension front, Zacha certainly has a strong case for a big raise.  Since being acquired from New Jersey four summers ago, he has gone from being an inconsistent bottom-six pivot to a pretty consistent top-six piece.  He has notched at least 47 points in each of his four years with the Bruins while only missing a total of four games due to injuries.  He has played at a 58-point pace over a full season overall during his tenure with the team.

That’s legitimate second-line production which bodes extremely well for Zacha.  With impactful centers being in extremely high demand, teams are willing to pay up to get one.  AFP Analytics projects a five-year deal for Zacha, one that would cost a little more than $7.3MM per season.  That would put him a little below Elias Lindholm ($7.75MM) but there’s certainly a case to make that Zacha should be worth more given Lindholm’s struggles offensively since joining the Bruins.

Is that a price Boston would want to pay?  Perhaps not but given the openness to hear out other offers, GM Don Sweeney is at least considering the possibility of not paying it even though the preference is to work out an extension.  Accordingly, he could be someone to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.