The Boston Bruins announced on Thursday that they have signed David Pastrnak to an eight-year, $90 million extension, locking up their star winger through the 2030-31 season.
The contract is the richest in Bruins history, topping the eight-year, $76 million extension defenseman Charlie McAvoy signed before the 2021-22 season.
The $11.25 million average annual value beginning next season will make Pastrnak the sixth-highest-paid player in the NHL. Only Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6M), Connor McDavid ($12.5M), Artemi Panarin ($11.64M), Auston Matthews ($11.64M) and Erik Karlsson ($11.5M) will make more.
The 26-year-old Pastrnak is currently in the final season of a six-year, $40 million contract ($6.67M AAV) signed before the 2017-18 season.
He is in the midst of his best season yet, with 42 goals and 80 points through 60 games. He ranks second in the NHL in goals and is tied for fourth in points.
Pastrnak won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal-scorer with 48 in 2019-20, when he also set his career high in points with 95. His next two offseasons were disrupted by hip surgery in 2020 and personal tragedy in 2021, but Pastrnak still managed to average over a point per game across those two seasons and recorded his second 40-goal season in 2021-22.
Pastrnak has also averaged over a point per game in the playoffs, with 74 points in 70 games. He is eighth among active NHL players in postseason points per game.
Pastrnak already ranks ninth in Bruins franchise history with 282 career goals. It’s possible he could break Johnny Bucyk’s franchise record of 545 by the time this eight-year contract expires. He would need to average a little under 35 goals per season to do so.
The deal locks Pastrnak in as one of the pillars the Bruins will be built around for the remainder of the decade. McAvoy and fellow defenseman Hampus Lindholm join him as foundational pieces, with both of them beginning eight-year contracts this season.
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