Bruins fans desperately want general manager Don Sweeney to get David Pastrnak locked up on a long-term extension as soon as possible, but it sounds like they're going to have to continue to wait.
The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun provided an update on those contract talks on Thursday, including a quote directly from Pastrnak's agent, J.P. Barry.
"I've been in regular discussions with Don about our respective positions for a few months," Barry told The Athletic. "We remain apart at this juncture. We will continue to negotiate."
LeBrun adds that Sweeney is trying to maintain a salary-cap culture that has seen stars like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci and even Pastrnak (on his current deal) take less than market value. Meanwhile, Pastrnak and Barry haven't blinked yet and could be willing to "wait for the kind of deal that a special player like this deserves."
LeBrun speculates that would mean an average annual value of $10 million or more. If we're being real, anything under $11 million per year would probably qualify as "below market value" at this point. Pastrnak is tied for fourth in the NHL in goals (24) and tied for sixth in points (48) this season.
As LeBrun notes, the fact that the two sides continue to talk is encouraging. He also reiterates that Pastrnak "doesn't want to go anywhere" and predicts that the star winger will eventually re-sign, but that it may not be until the period between the end of the season and the start of free agency on July 1.
So, basically this is a waiting game, with neither side feeling the need to drastically change their position just yet. That's probably not what fans want to hear, as they would prefer to see this wrapped up long before June. But, at least the overall tone of LeBrun's report remains fairly optimistic and no one's walking away from negotiations.
