By all accounts, it seems like David Pastrnak’s talks with the Bruins haven’t gone as well as either side has hoped so far. While there is mutual interest in a long-term contract, there seems to be a big difference regarding what the cap hit on the deal should be.
Late last month, it was reported that the Bruins had made a $6MM per year offer for either six or seven years with Pastrnak getting to choose the term. That would allow them to keep his cap hit below winger Brad Marchand, something that they’re believed to be keen on doing. However, it sounds like that’s not a deal that Pastrnak is willing to sign considering nothing like that has been signed yet.
What complicates things a bit here is that the 21-year-old is coming off of quite the career season. After recording just 27 and 26 points in his first two seasons, Pastrnak had a breakout year, tallying 34 goals along with 36 assists. That really helps his bargaining position but the question becomes is this a sign of things to come or was 2016-17 a year where everything went perfectly and he’s going to be more of a 50-60 point player down the road?
Given his first two seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising if GM Don Sweeney isn’t at least trying to hedge against Pastrnak seeing his point total drop next season. If that is the case, it would stand to reason that this is a factor in the delay in getting a contract done.
When there is a difference in opinion as to what a player could realistically produce in the years to come, a short-term deal becomes that much more legitimate of an option. While it hasn’t been discussed too much in this particular case, that could change somewhat soon if the stalemate is still ongoing closer to training camp.
A two-year contract would potentially serve as a compromise where Pastrnak would still get a significant raise from his entry-level salary while the Bruins would get more certainty over the next couple of seasons as to whether or not Pastrnak can continue to produce at a high-end level.
Of course, there are some drawbacks to this – the Bruins would be giving up the chance to have four RFA (cheaper) years as part of a long-term deal that would help keep the AAV lower while if Pastrnak doesn’t produce as much over that span, he could wind up with potentially less money in the long run. These types of risks aren’t unique to this circumstance though, that’s just the nature of the beast on short-term contracts at this stage of a career.
With there still being the better part of two weeks left before training camp, both sides can rightfully continue to focus on hammering out a long-term pact. But if those talks aren’t fruitful, a bridge deal may be the way to go even if it’s not what either side prefers to do.
Love the player, but he doesn’t deserve to be highest paid on team. He’s still an erratic skater and gives up the puck way too much! Let him sit and think about it..
The bruins need to sign him. Offer him 7m a year for 7 years with incentives for scoring or assists
Unfortunately, the Bruins aren’t able to put any performance incentives in his contract. Once a player is out of the entry-level system, they can only take bonuses on one-year deals (and only if they’re 35 or older or have at least 400 games of experience while spending 100 days or more on IR the previous year).
Pastrnak was below average his first two seasons. He had an excellent season last season, but that doesn’t mean he should make more than the proven veterans. He doesn’t kill penalties. He doesn’t take face-offs. He isn’t an all-around player yet. Pastrnak has to be prove last year wasn’t a fluke. There have been a lot of one-year wonders in the NHL. I’m not saying Pastrnak is going to be one those, but you have to make sure if you are going to invest a lot of money into a player. I think the Bruins offer of $6 million a year is more than fair. That is what Filip Forsberg signed for last year & quite frankly, Forsberg is a superior player than Pastrnak. Forsberg has been a consistent offensive player is entire career & he’s one of Nashville’s top penalty killers. He’s performed in the playoffs. Forsberg is the superior player. Yet, Pastrnak’s agent JP Barry finds $6 million a season for Pastrnak insulting. I usually never side with Bruins management in contract negotiations, but I’m with them on this one.