David Pastrnak is going to play hockey for the Boston Bruins for a very long time.
Pastrnak and the Bruins agreed to a massive eight-year, $90 million contract extension, the team announced Thursday morning. The mega deal carries an $11.25 million annual cap hit that should keep Pastrnak in the Black and Gold through the 2030-31 season.
The 26-year-old certainly picked the perfect time for a career season, which has been downright impressive by his own lofty standards. Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 42 goals, second to only Connor McDavid in the NHL and has 38 assists on top of that.
There's no questioning Pastrnak's standing as one of the top goal-scorers in the NHL. After finding his footing through his first two seasons in 2014 and 2015, the winger has scored 257 goals in 473 games since then, good for roughly 45 goals per 82-game season. Only four players -- Alex Ovechkin, McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Auston Matthews -- have scored more goals over that span than Pastrnak.
At the moment, Pastrnak's $11.25 million cap hit will be the sixth-highest in the NHL beginning next season, trailing Nathan MacKinnon, McDavid, Artemi Panarin, Matthews and Erik Karlsson. It's a sliver above players like John Tavares and Drew Doughty, too.
The Pastrnak news comes on the same day the Bruins swung a trade for Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, further bolstering their forward depth and potentially giving them Taylor Hall insurance. It is clear the Bruins are all-in on the 2022-23 season, as they look to break through and win the Stanley Cup in what could be the final run for both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
This move, however, also quite literally signals a simultaneous shift toward the future. The idea of losing both of Krejci and Bergeron certainly would hurt, but the next great Bruins core is now very much in place. Pastrnak, Hall, Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo and Linus Ullmark all are signed through at least the 2024-25 season.
