Mark Kastelic has been a perfect fit for the Bruins in his first season in Boston. It took both sides less than half a season to realize they want to keep this relationship going, as the team announced Friday afternoon that it has signed Kastelic to a three-year extension through the 2027-28 season with an annual cap hit of $1.567 million.
The Bruins acquired Kastelic over the summer as part of the trade that sent Linus Ullmark to Ottawa. While he was probably the least-discussed part of the trade at the time (the Bruins also got a first-round pick and goalie Joonas Korpisalo), it didn’t take long for the 25-year-old center to emerge as a fan – and team – favorite.
Kastelic, who had never scored more than 11 points in his three seasons with the Senators, started this season with a surprising offensive burst, recording seven points in the first 11 games while centering a fourth line with Johnny Beecher and Cole Koepke that frequently kept the team afloat as much of the rest of the roster struggled out of the gates.
The offense has unsurprisingly slowed down a bit, but Kastelic has nonetheless already matched his career high in points, all while being the Bruins’ most consistent tone-setter physically with 151 hits (first on the team, second in the NHL) and six fighting majors (also first on the team and second in the NHL).
Kastelic has also won 55.2% of his faceoffs while handling a heavy dose of defensive-zone shifts, an essential part of fourth-line duties. He also briefly provided a spark to the third line last month when he got moved up to right wing to play alongside the struggling Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic, highlighting the contagious nature of his energy and intensity.
Committing to fourth-liners isn’t always smart business, but it’s hard to see any downside in this case. Kastelic is still young, he signed for a reasonable salary, and he plays exactly how the Bruins wish more of their forwards played.