Boston Bruins sign David Pastrnak to eight-year extension with $11.25 million AAV

After a bit of waiting, the Boston Bruins have finally locked up superstar winger David Pastrnak to an eight-year contract extension with an $11.25 million cap hit.

Pastrnak was in the final year of his sweetheart six-year deal with just a $6,666,667 cap hit, up there with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon (who also has a new contract next season) as one of the best value contracts in the league. There was some concern that Pastrnak may walk to free agency, especially during last offseason when it seemed like Patrice Bergeron had retired and the team was looking to take a step back, but that isn’t certainly the case anymore.

There are no reports on if the deal contains any signing bonuses, as the full details of the contract have yet to be confirmed at this time.

Pastrnak’s contract will give him the sixth-highest average annual value in the league, behind MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Artemi Panarin, Auston Matthews, and Erik Karlsson, and he’ll be the 15th player with an eight-figure salary in 2023-24. Pastrnak’s $90 million contract is also the sixth largest in total dollars behind Shea Weber, Sidney Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid, and Karlsson.

Pastrnak is in the midst of another fantastic season, with 42 goals, 38 assists, and 80 points in just 60 games this season, which is tied for fourth with Tage Thompson in scoring, and is second behind McDavid in goals. He’s already only a point away from tying his second best season in his career, while he needs six goals and 15 points to tie his career high set in 2019-20, when he won the Rocket Richard trophy.

Pastrnak isn’t the only member of the Bruins having a fantastic year, as the team as a whole has been gelling at a dominant level all season. They’re first in the league by a wide margin with a 47-8-5 record, ahead of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes by 13 points.