Just before NHL Trade Deadline, Bruins get a major extension in the books
By Jim Lynch
The Boston Bruins have been busy ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday. Not only have they made some major trades, but now they have locked up a big star to a major contract extension.
The Boston Bruins have gotten their star player re-signed. David Pastrnak will remain a Bruin for the foreseeable future, as the team announced on Thursday morning. This is a big win for the Bruins ahead of their chase for the 2023 Stanley Cup.
David Pastrnak signs a major contract extension with the Boston Bruins.
Pastrnak was in the final year of his six-year $40 million deal he signed in 2017. His current contract carried an AAV of $6,6666,667. His next deal is set to increase a bit above that mark.
Pastrnak’s next contract is for eight years and will pay him $90 million, the sixth-largest contract in NHL history. The 26-year-old will be signed through 2030-31 and will carry an AAV of $11.25 million.
This is a break from a lot of past Bruins contracts. A lot of past Bruins have signed more team-friendly deals to keep the entire group together and playing competitively. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was the first to break from that norm when he signed a massive contract earning him a $76 million and carrying an AAV of $9.5 million a season. Pastrnak and McAvoy are definitely worth the money; it is just not the norm in Boston.
David Pastrnak’s stats over his nine-year career:
| Scoring | Goals | Assists | Shots | Ice Time | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | GW | EV | PP | SH | S | S% | TSA | TOI | ATOI | FOW | FOL | FO% | BLK | HIT | TK | GV | Awards |
| 2014-15 | 18 | BOS | NHL | 46 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 93 | 10.8 | 175 | 643 | 13:58 | 5 | 12 | 29.4 | 11 | 20 | 25 | 30 | |
| 2015-16 | 19 | BOS | NHL | 51 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 3 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 13.9 | 174 | 711 | 13:57 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | 15 | 52 | 35 | 51 | |
| 2016-17 | 20 | BOS | NHL | 75 | 34 | 36 | 70 | 11 | 34 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 14 | 0 | 262 | 13.0 | 465 | 1349 | 17:59 | 2 | 1 | 66.7 | 32 | 72 | 50 | 65 | |
| 2017-18 | 21 | BOS | NHL | 82 | 35 | 45 | 80 | 10 | 37 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 32 | 13 | 0 | 246 | 14.2 | 450 | 1473 | 17:58 | 5 | 20 | 20.0 | 31 | 55 | 50 | 76 | Byng-33 |
| 2018-19 | 22 | BOS | NHL | 66 | 38 | 43 | 81 | 6 | 32 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 16 | 0 | 235 | 16.2 | 431 | 1238 | 18:45 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 | 25 | 57 | 36 | 90 | Byng-49 |
| 2019-20 | 23 | BOS | NHL | 70 | 48 | 47 | 95 | 21 | 40 | 28 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 29 | 18 | 0 | 279 | 17.2 | 507 | 1327 | 18:58 | 7 | 11 | 38.9 | 22 | 47 | 49 | 88 | AS-1,Hart-4,Richard-1 |
| 2020-21 | 24 | BOS | NHL | 48 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 10 | 24 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 176 | 11.4 | 334 | 893 | 18:37 | 2 | 5 | 28.6 | 13 | 35 | 25 | 31 | Hart-19 |
| 2021-22 | 25 | BOS | NHL | 72 | 40 | 37 | 77 | 13 | 20 | 25 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 312 | 12.8 | 560 | 1340 | 18:36 | 7 | 14 | 33.3 | 14 | 63 | 36 | 77 | |
| 2022-23 | 26 | BOS | NHL | 60 | 42 | 38 | 80 | 27 | 32 | 28 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 23 | 15 | 0 | 285 | 14.7 | 525 | 1188 | 19:48 | 6 | 8 | 42.9 | 26 | 63 | 40 | 85 | |
| Career | 9 yrs | NHL | 570 | 282 | 302 | 584 | 113 | 247 | 185 | 97 | 0 | 49 | 205 | 97 | 0 | 1996 | 14.1 | 3621 | 10162 | 17:50 | 35 | 76 | 31.5 | 189 | 464 | 346 | 593 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/2/2023.
The Bruins are set up to win it all this season. They are the clear favorites for the Presidents’ Trophy, and they are just a point away from hitting 100 points on the season as of this writing. Their group is set up to win now, but they do have a lot of players on expiring deals to worry about this summer.
Bergeron, Bertuzzi, Nosek, Hathaway, Krejci, Frederic, Greer, Lauko, Orlov, Clifton and Swayman are all in the final year of their current deals. Some of those players are deadline rentals like Orlov, but some of those players are franchise icons as well, like Bergeron and Krejci.
It is worth pointing out, no team has currently won the Stanley Cup with a player carrying an AAV north of 10 million. While this is obviously going to happen eventually, if not this season, it is still important to note.