Each NHL team’s best contract heading into the 2019-20 season

Boston Bruins – David Pastrnak

Contract: $6.66666 million cap hit over the next four seasons

The Boston Bruins have three of the best bargain deals in the NHL. All of them play on the top forward line. You could make a strong case for Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. However, given David Pastrnak’s age and likely career trajectory, he gets the nod.

Pastrnak has the 11th-highest cap hit among right wings. He finished the 2018-19 season with 1.23 points per game, which was third among right wings. Only Nikita Kucherov (who won the Art Ross Trophy) and Patrick Kane boasted a better rate.

Even if you strictly look at points, Pastrnak finished seventh among right wings with 81 points in 66 games. He was the only player in the top 20 who played less than 70 games. Pastrnak finished 15th among all forwards in WAR (3.1), according to Evolving Hockey. Most of those who were above him are centers.

It’s worth noting Pastrnak has helped Bergeron and Marchand take their games to the next level. Before, they excelled defensively but struggled to produce at an elite rate (though they were both still among the best in the league). Under Pastrnak, both Bergeron and Marchand have seen their numbers increase.

Even when he’s off his game (as he was for most of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs), he has the ability to change games with just one shift. Pastrnak drove Bruins fans insane with his inconsistency in the postseason, yet he still finished with 19 points in 24 games.

Honorable mention: It’s very easy to be overlooked when Zdeno Chara is on your team and plays the same position as you. But dang, Torrey Krug has given the Bruins some very good value with a $5.25 million cap hit. With one year left on his deal, his next contract could be a costly one, but you can’t argue he hasn’t earned it.