Pasta, Bruins ink 8 yrs, $90 million contract.

[Brewin Flames]

Pastrnak signs 8-year, $90 million contract with Bruins

Forward leads Boston in goals, assists, points, could have become free agent after season

by Amalie Benjamin @AmalieBenjamin / NHL.com Staff Writer

 2:01 PM

 

BOSTON -- David Pastrnak signed an eight-year, $90 million contract with the Boston Bruins on Thursday, getting the team closer to what had been the ultimate hope where their star forward was concerned. 

"Our goal was, all along, to make him a lifelong Bruin," general manager Don Sweeney said. 

 

This contract may or may not get him there. But the eight-year deal, which runs through the 2030-31 season, will not end until the 26-year-old turns 35. It is worth an average annual value of $11.25 million, dwarfing the next-highest number on the roster, the $9.5 million owed annual to defenseman Charlie McAvoy. 

 

"It's huge," Pastrnak said of potentially following in the footsteps of lifelong Bruins players like Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. "These are the guys I grew up with, pretty much, my NHL career. I've been learning from them every day. 

 

"It's an amazing accomplishment to play your career [for] one team and that's definitely what was stuck in my head going into this negotiation. I'm honored and happy that I'm staying here -- and I can't wait to get to work."
Pastrnak is in the final year of a six-year contract and could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

 

"It was something that was certainly a priority for us," Bruins president Cam Neely said. "Probably took a little longer than we had hoped for, but we finally got across the finish line and we're thrilled to have him for another eight years."

 

But it wasn't something that weighed on Pastrnak, who leads the Bruins in goals (42), assists (38) and points (80) in 60 games this season.

 

"I was pretty honest with you guys," Pastrnak said. "I didn't really worry about it much, especially when I get to the rink. That was off my mind. Obviously at home, sometimes you think about it."

 

Selected by Boston in the first round (No. 25) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Pastrnak has 584 points (282 goals, 302 assists) in 570 regular-season games and 74 points (30 goals, 44 assists) in 70 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Pastrnak ranks ninth in Bruins history in goals, 14th in points, 18th in assists and third in hat tricks (13).

 

"He's been an impactful player for us," Bergeron said. "I've said that many times. He's a game-breaker. He has that ability and he just keeps taking his game to the next level."

 

Sweeney said Pastrnak had indicated to the team all along that he wanted to remain in Boston. But, as he said, "Until a deal is done, you have some anxiety. But we are confident in what our organization offers to David and the success we've had and hopefully are going to continue to have. He's a big part of that."

 

Pastrnak had an NHL career-high 48 goals in 2019-20 when he won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, along with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for leading the League in goals. He has scored at least 40 goals in three of the past four seasons and at least 34 goals in six of the past seven seasons.

 

Boston (47-8-5) leads the NHL in points (99) and has won eight straight games heading into their game against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NESN, MSG-B, ESPN+, SN NOW).

 

Part of what the Bruins have been able to do in signing Pastrnak has been to make the transition from their aging core - Bergeron, 37, Krejci, 36, and Brad Marchand, 34 -- to the new generation that will take them from here.

 

That includes defensemen McAvoy, 25, signed through 2029-30, Hampus Lindholm, 29, (2029-30) and Brandon Carlo, 26, (2026-27), forwards Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, 25, (2026-27), Charlie Coyle, 31, (2025-26) and Taylor Hall, 31, (2024-25) and goalie Linus Ullmark, 29, (2024-25). 

 

"I think it's in great health," Bergeron said. "Having that young core locked up for a long time makes all the difference in the world to me. For a team, I think that's what you want. You want to have those guys there for a long time and then you can build around them."

 

It's what they're hoping happens. 

 

"That's the plan," Neely said. "You never know. But that's certainly the plan with our back end and goaltending. We'll have some work to do up front in the next couple of years. We recognize that. But I think we should still be very competitive."

 

That starts with Pastrnak.

 

And for him, ultimately, it came down to one thing. 

 

"This is home," he said. "This is our home away from home."

[GratefulFlyers]

Mama Mia! 11 and a quarter million and it’s actually good for the Bruins. Pretty sweet for Pasta too! Wow.